Nuns Healing Hearts
Heroes Come In All Sorts Of Shapes And Sizes.
Women and men who, often against the most challenging odds, bravely stand up for justice and compassion in our world.
And while each generation has heroes, we have to hope that this generation, the wealthiest, the most connected, and perhaps the most complex generation the world has seen, is producing more heroes than in times past.
In 2019, it will be 10 years since the Church established a global network of religious Sisters called Talitha Kum to fight the scourge of human trafficking around the world. (In Mark’s Gospel, Christ uses the words ‘Talitha Kum’ meaning ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’)
It is difficult, often dangerous work. The Sisters usually live and work in the very communities where the trafficking is taking place. They live cheek by jowl not just with the victims and survivors, but sometimes in close proximity to the perpetrators too.
In Palermo, Sicily, Sister Valeria helps girls as young as 14 who are trafficked by the Mafia into prostitution. Sometimes the girls have not managed to wholly escape their enforced servitude, and the Sisters help them navigate the sensitive complications of their particular situation, giving them support but also showing them that options do exist.
For the first time quite often, they discover that there is light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
“I try to understand them, because they come with incredibly difficult pasts. So this has been a learning experience for me, to be compassionate, merciful, and treat them like Jesus would.”
Sister Lorena Hernández
Slavery Takes Many Forms In Our World Today.
Everyone understands prostitution, but there are many other forms of slaves, and whether they are young fishermen in Thailand, or children working in mines in Mozambique, the Sisters are there beside them.
Modern slavery also takes on more familiar forms, sometimes right under our own noses. From domestic servants in our major cities, to girls working in nail bars in our high streets or migrants working in our carwashes. In my city, in your city. In every city.
The veneer of the daily commercial world gives cover to this everyday crime, so much so that it is easy to become oblivious to the problem. After all, they service our needs. It is the ultimate multi-billion dollar service industry and it is everywhere.
In over 75 countries on 5 continents, over 2000 nuns work tirelessly on our behalf to make sure that the victims and survivors know that they are not forgotten.
We are lucky to have them. They are our heroes. We salute them. We give thanks for their service over the past 10 years. We pray for their success in the next 10 in the fight to eradicate Human Trafficking.
Join that fight.
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