(Vatican Radio) A delegation from the U.S. state of Louisiana was among the special guests meeting with Pope Francis during his general audience on Wednesday. Led by Governor John Bel Edwards, the delegation asked the Pope to bless the pioneering work that is going on in Louisiana to prevent human trafficking and to protect victims who’ve been trapped in this modern day slavery.That work includes special training for police officers and the opening of a shelter for sixteen young women in a secure location near the city of Baton Rouge.To find out more about the project Philippa Hitchen spoke to Governor Edwards and to Fr Jeff Bayhi, pastor of St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Zachary….Listen: Fr Bayhi was inspired the tireless anti-trafficking efforts of Italian Consolata Sister Eugenia Bonetti, whose passion, he says “is contagious”. He explains that the Louisiana initiative has brought together the governor, state agencies, law enforcement, leg...
(Vatican Radio) A delegation from the U.S. state of Louisiana was among the special guests meeting with Pope Francis during his general audience on Wednesday. Led by Governor John Bel Edwards, the delegation asked the Pope to bless the pioneering work that is going on in Louisiana to prevent human trafficking and to protect victims who’ve been trapped in this modern day slavery.
That work includes special training for police officers and the opening of a shelter for sixteen young women in a secure location near the city of Baton Rouge.
To find out more about the project Philippa Hitchen spoke to Governor Edwards and to Fr Jeff Bayhi, pastor of St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Zachary….
Listen:
Fr Bayhi was inspired the tireless anti-trafficking efforts of Italian Consolata Sister Eugenia Bonetti, whose passion, he says “is contagious”. He explains that the Louisiana initiative has brought together the governor, state agencies, law enforcement, legislators and senators , alongside ‘Metanoia’, the umbrella group for the project which he founded. “It’s been an incredible opportunity to see a state reach out and say ‘slaves no more’, we need to care for these kids” he says.
Governor John Bel Edwards says that Louisiana was a “hotbed” of human trafficking activity, partly as a result of some 15 million tourists that come primarily to New Orleans each year. The situation is also impacted by the “interstate” highway that runs from California to Florida, passing through southern Louisiana.
“It’s really a tragic circumstance and we have to really do much better in Louisiana and around the country,” the governor insists. However, numbers of trafficking cases are dropping because of the Metanoia shelter initiative.
Speaking about setting up the house, Fr Bayhi says it will provide shelter for 16 children at a time, allowing them to “feel safe and secure, give them some sense of worth” as well as providing them with life skills to enable them to find other ways of earning a living. Sr Eugenia has helped by sending four sisters who will take care of the young survivors, together with other local professionals.
Fr Bayhi talks about Pope John Paul II’s writings on the “culture of death”, saying that human trafficking “is one more step in the devaluation of the dignity and the sanctity of human life.” He also has a stark warning for male consumers of the human trafficking industry, saying they create “a deficit in the dignity of human life.”
“If anyone thinks that internet porn is victimless,” he insists, “someone is there making those kids do that stuff. They are not there voluntarily and you’re paying the money that makes it worth while to kidnap these kids and force them into that. You may have never picked up one of these children on a roadside but you make that possible”.
“If we want to fight this,” Fr Bayhi concludes, “we have got to destroy the market that allows human life to be so denigrated. And if you have any part in that, you’re part of the problem. We invite you to be part of the solution.”
Find out more about the project on the Metanoia website: metanoia-inc.org
St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów is depicted as the patron saint of Poland in a miniature painted by Stanislaw Samostrzelnik of Mogila. / Credit: Polona Digital Library|Wikimedia|PD-ArtWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience invoked the intercession of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, for peace in Ukraine and Israel.Addressing Polish pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, the pope said: "Today you celebrate the solemnity of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr, patron of your homeland.""St. John Paul II wrote of him," Francis went on, "that from high in heaven, he shared in the sufferings and hopes of your nation, sustaining its survival, especially during the Second World War."Francis prayed that the intercession of St. Stanislaus "obtain, even today, the gift of peace in Europe and throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East."What does Poland have to do with these wars? This co...
null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).A trio of Catholic radio networks has filed a petition against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over new requirements that will soon mandate that all U.S. radio and television stations publish information about the race and gender of their employees.In a 3-2 ruling in February, the commissioners of the FCC reinstated a requirement that radio stations must annually file a document, known as Form 395-B, that lists the race and gender of their employees.The FCC governs radio stations transmitting on AM or FM frequencies, satellite radio and TV stations, cable networks, and broadcast TV stations. These entities are required to maintain a summary of publicly accessible information known as a public file, with varying requirements among the types of stations regarding what must be contained in the file.The FCC had not required Form 395-B since 2004, following a 2001 ruling by t...
Servant of God Nino Baglieri. / Credit: ANS/SalesiansACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him. The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, "becoming a Christian."Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that "prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer."Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: "We are grateful t...