Church plays increasing role helping human trafficking victims

Published: 2006-06-05

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- In many countries, the Catholic Church is playing an increasing role in helping victims of human trafficking -- a crime that has spread to nearly every country in the world, according to a new report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. "There's been a really significant upswing in the response by the Catholic Church and other churches," said Mary DeLorey, Catholic Relief Services adviser on Latin American issues, in an interview with Catholic News Service. "Women's religious orders are definitely in the lead." When victims of trafficking manage to get away from the criminal organizations that have enslaved them, "they are so traumatized and brutalized that they need a secure place" that is often provided by church organizations, said DeLorey, who also advises on migration and trafficking for CRS, the U.S. bishops' international development and aid agency.

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