Pontiff unites with leaders from other religions to fight slavery, human trafficking

Pope Francis has joined forces with leaders of other religious bodies to act against slavery and human trafficking all over the world.

The Catholic leader on Tuesday, December 2 together with representatives of other religions worldwide- including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, as well as Orthodox, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim clerics – signed a joint statement for the engagement of religions in the elimination of modern slavery and human trafficking by 2020.

The initiative by the organization Global Freedom Network was initiated to celebrate the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The signing ceremony took place at the Casina Pio IUV, at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Signatories to the joint statement were Pope Francis for the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for the Anglican Church, a Hindu representative and two Buddhists, including the top cleric of Malaysia; Chief Rabbi David Rose and another rabbi, Abraham Skorka, an old friend of the pontiff, for Jews, Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, for the Orthodox Church, on behalf of ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the under-secretary of Al-Azhar, Abdalla Abbas Soliman, on behalf of great Imam Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, and the great Ayatollahs Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi and Sheikh Basheer Hussain al Najafi (who represents special advisor Sheikh Naziyah Razzaq Jaafar), as well as Argentine Sheikh Omar Aboud, all for the Muslims.

Representatives of international organizations including GFN partner, Andrew Forrest, of the Walk Free Foundation, civil society organizations and companies were all present to witness the signing.

For the first time in history, the leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches, along with Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims, vowed to work together against slavery.

In the joint statement, the pontiff and the other religious leaders stress that modern slavery is a crime against humanity and needs to be fought against by all nations and religions.