Day for Life
Day for Life is the day in the Church’s year dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. The theme for this year is human trafficking and Pope Francis appeals to Catholics in England and Wales to open their eyes and hear the cry of human trafficking victims.
Pope Francis has written: “Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred… Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.
In the last 12 months there have been two major East Lancashire Police operations where coordinated action across six towns led to the arrest of fourteen men and one woman operating a sex trafficking ring based in Blackburn. Its tentacles reached Clitheroe. Human trafficking is a major issue in the UK and in Lancashire we have instances not only of sexual exploitation but also enforced Labour, domestic slavery, forced marriage and enforced criminality. Today’s collection is taken in support of Church supported life activities. There are materials and on-line resources from Day for Life http://www.dayforlife.org/
Caritas Salford Anti-Trafficking, the Santa Marta Group and the Medaille Trust is launching an exercise which is part of an ongoing diocesan strategy to raise awareness on human trafficking in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Through prayer and greater awareness Catholics can play an important part in helping the Police end this horrific crime. For more information go to:
Catholic Church http://santamartagroup.com/
Anglican Church https://www.theclewerinitiative.org/
Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/modern-slavery
Please make sure you do not leave church today without taking one of our cards and that you know what to do when you see something that doesn’t look right and probably isn’t.
Together we can end modern slavery.