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Human trafficking “is wrong, it is illegal, and it is sinful,” Irish Bishops said in a recent statement that highlighted increased forced migration from Great Britain to Ireland. They urged Catholic parishes to become better informed and to continue responding to and raising awareness of the issue.

U.S. Bishops have called on legislators to pass a proposed bill that would finance anti-human trafficking measures and support survivors. “It is incumbent upon all of us to unite in promoting efforts that prevent the evil of human trafficking,” said Episcopal migration lead Mark J. Seitz.

On the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking on 8 February, Pope Francis urged Catholics to work to stop “this global scourge.” “It is a call to take action, to mobilize all our resources in combatting trafficking and restoring full dignity” to survivors, he said.

Services at borders, skills training, psychological support, housing, and education about migrant rights are some of the efforts by Episcopal Conferences in Southern Africa, Mozambique, Central Africa, and Thailand to respond to and end human trafficking highlighted in this Vatican News interview.

During the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis remembered the migrants who died in a shipwreck off Italy on 26 September and appealed for an end to the human trafficking that is taking the lives of many innocent people. “May the journeys of hope never again turn into journeys of death,” he prayed.