Religious women link up to fight human trafficking

A nun reads through an anti-trafficking leaftlet handed out to Typhoon Haiyan survivors at the Philippine Air Force Base in Pasay City, Philippines, beginning Nov. 16. (Courtesy of Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking) N.J. Viehland National Catholic Reporter December 12, 2013 Tagaytay City, Philippines A formidable multi-billion-dollar human-trafficking industry has driven Catholic religious women to collaborate among themselves and with other sectors of society to stop what Pope Francis has called ‘the most extensive form of slavery of the 21st century.’ Since International Union of Superiors General (UISG) was established in 2009, Talitha Kum (‘Little girl, arise’), the anti-trafficking network of women religious, has developed a program of activities banking on partnerships established by the UISG central office in Rome as well as a network of local anti-trafficking teams. Talitha Kum has also linked up with government, professional, faith-based and other organizations, said Sr. Estrella Castalone, its coordinator, at a recent Asia-Oceania conference of women religious in Tagaytay City, south of Manila. In her presentation ahead of Thursday's International Day against Trafficking, Castalone said, ‘My dearest sisters ... We know that this slavery has a feminine face. It behooves us, women religious, to join hands and put a stop to it. Talitha Kum takes this commitment and we enjoin you to support us, individually or as a congregation.’….. Read More Or paste this link into your browser: http://ncronline.org/node/66101