On Thursday 10 April the 'Combating Human Trafficking' conference, attended by police chiefs and law enforcement officials from around the world made a declaration of commitment in the fight to bring an end to human trafficking.
The Santa Marta Commitment, named after the house in the Vatican where the signatories stayed during the two-day conference, is a “personal commitment” by the signatories to work together to: "develop partnerships with the Church and civil society to bring to justice those who are responsible for these horrendous crimes and to alleviate the suffering of the victims. "
Pope Francis attended the conference and gave an address to the conference’s participants in which he said: “Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity.
The conference was organised by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and chaired by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.
Download the Declaration of Commitment
Copies of addresses, the programme and the background to the conference are available here.
The ITV interview with Pope Francis can be viewed here.
