Vatican City, 10 December 2014 (VIS) –
Below is the full text of the Holy Father's Message for the 48th
World Day of Peace, to be held on 1 January 2015 on the theme “Slaves
no more, but brothers and sisters'':
“At the beginning of this New Year,
which we welcome as God’s gracious gift to all humanity, I offer
heartfelt wishes of peace to every man and woman, to all the world’s
peoples and nations, to heads of state and government, and to
religious leaders. In doing so, I pray for an end to wars, conflicts
and the great suffering caused by human agency, by epidemics past and
present, and by the devastation wrought by natural disasters. I pray
especially that, on the basis of our common calling to cooperate with
God and all people of good will for the advancement of harmony and
peace in the world, we may resist the temptation to act in a manner
unworthy of our humanity.
In my Message for Peace last year, I
spoke of 'the desire for a full life … which includes a longing for
fraternity which draws us to fellowship with others and enables us to
see them not as enemies or rivals, but as brothers and sisters to be
accepted and embraced'. Since we are by nature relational beings,
meant to find fulfilment through interpersonal relationships inspired
by justice and love, it is fundamental for our human development that
our dignity, freedom and autonomy be acknowledged and respected.
Tragically, the growing scourge of man’s exploitation by man
gravely damages the life of communion and our calling to forge
interpersonal relations marked by respect, justice and love. This
abominable phenomenon, which leads to contempt for the fundamental
rights of others and to the suppression of their freedom and dignity,
takes many forms. I would like briefly to consider these, so that, in
the light of God’s word, we can consider all men and women 'no
longer slaves, but brothers and sisters'.
Listening to God’s plan for humanity
2. The theme I have chosen for this
year’s message is drawn from Saint Paul’s letter to Philemon, in
which the Apostle asks his co-worker to welcome Onesimus, formerly
Philemon’s slave, now a Christian and, therefore, according to
Paul, worthy of being considered a brother. The Apostle of the
Gentiles writes: 'Perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a
while, that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, as a beloved brother'. Onesimus became
Philemon’s brother when he became a Christian. Conversion to
Christ, the beginning of a life lived Christian discipleship, thus
constitutes a new birth which generates fraternity as the fundamental
bond of family life and the basis of life in society.
In the Book of Genesis, we read that
God made man male and female, and blessed them so that they could
increase and multiply. He made Adam and Eve parents who, in response
to God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, brought about the
first fraternity, that of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel were brothers
because they came forth from the same womb. Consequently they had the
same origin, nature and dignity as their parents, who were created in
the image and likeness of God.
But fraternity also embraces variety
and differences between brothers and sisters, even though they are
linked by birth and are of the same nature and dignity. As brothers
and sisters, therefore, all people are in relation with others, from
whom they differ, but with whom they share the same origin, nature
and dignity. In this way, fraternity constitutes the network of
relations essential for the building of the human family created by
God.
Tragically, between the first creation
recounted in the Book of Genesis and the new birth in Christ whereby
believers become brothers and sisters of the 'first-born among many
brethren', there is the negative reality of sin, which often disrupts
human fraternity and constantly disfigures the beauty and nobility of
our being brothers and sisters in the one human family. It was not
only that Cain could not stand Abel; he killed him out of envy and,
in so doing, committed the first fratricide. 'Cain’s murder of Abel
bears tragic witness to his radical rejection of their vocation to be
brothers. Their story brings out the difficult task to which all men
and women are called, to live as one, each taking care of the other'.
This was also the case with Noah and
his children. Ham’s disrespect for his father Noah drove Noah to
curse his insolent son and to bless the others, those who honoured
him. This created an inequality between brothers born of the same
womb.
In the account of the origins of the
human family, the sin of estrangement from God, from the father
figure and from the brother, becomes an expression of the refusal of
communion. It gives rise to a culture of enslavement, with all its
consequences extending from generation to generation: rejection of
others, their mistreatment, violations of their dignity and
fundamental rights, and institutionalised inequality. Hence, the need
for constant conversion to the Covenant, fulfilled by Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross, in the confidence that 'where sin increased,
grace abounded all the more… through Jesus Christ'. Christ, the
beloved Son, came to reveal the Father’s love for humanity. Whoever
hears the Gospel and responds to the call to conversion becomes
Jesus’ 'brother, sister and mother', and thus an adopted son of his
Father.
One does not become a Christian, a
child of the Father and a brother or sister in Christ, as the result
of an authoritative divine decree, without the exercise of personal
freedom: in a word, without being freely converted to Christ.
Becoming a child of God is necessarily linked to conversion: 'Repent,
and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit'. All those who responded in faith and with their lives
to Peter’s preaching entered into the fraternity of the first
Christian community: Jews and Greeks, slaves and free. Differing
origins and social status did not diminish anyone’s dignity or
exclude anyone from belonging to the People of God. The Christian
community is thus a place of communion lived in the love shared among
brothers and sisters.
All of this shows how the Good News of
Jesus Christ, in whom God makes 'all things new', is also capable of
redeeming human relationships, including those between slaves and
masters, by shedding light on what both have in common: adoptive
sonship and the bond of brotherhood in Christ. Jesus himself said to
his disciples: 'No longer do I call you servants, for the servant
does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known
to you'.
The many faces of slavery yesterday and
today
From time immemorial, different
societies have known the phenomenon of man’s subjugation by man.
There have been periods of human history in which the institution of
slavery was generally accepted and regulated by law. This legislation
dictated who was born free and who was born into slavery, as well as
the conditions whereby a freeborn person could lose his or her
freedom or regain it. In other words, the law itself admitted that
some people were able or required to be considered the property of
other people, at their free disposition. A slave could be bought and
sold, given away or acquired, as if he or she were a commercial
product.
Today, as the result of a growth in our
awareness, slavery, seen as a crime against humanity, has been
formally abolished throughout the world. The right of each person not
to be kept in a state of slavery or servitude has been recognised in
international law as inviolable.
Yet, even though the international
community has adopted numerous agreements aimed at ending slavery in
all its forms, and has launched various strategies to combat this
phenomenon, millions of people today – children, women and men of
all ages – are deprived of freedom and are forced to live in
conditions akin to slavery.
I think of the many men and women
labourers, including minors, subjugated in different sectors, whether
formally or informally, in domestic or agricultural workplaces, or in
the manufacturing or mining industry; whether in countries where
labour regulations fail to comply with international norms and
minimum standards, or, equally illegally, in countries which lack
legal protection for workers’ rights.
I think also of the living conditions
of many migrants who, in their dramatic odyssey, experience hunger,
are deprived of freedom, robbed of their possessions, or undergo
physical and sexual abuse. In a particular way, I think of those
among them who, upon arriving at their destination after a gruelling
journey marked by fear and insecurity, are detained in at times
inhumane conditions. I think of those among them, who for different
social, political and economic reasons, are forced to live
clandestinely. My thoughts also turn to those who, in order to remain
within the law, agree to disgraceful living and working conditions,
especially in those cases where the laws of a nation create or permit
a structural dependency of migrant workers on their employers, as,
for example, when the legality of their residency is made dependent
on their labour contract. Yes, I am thinking of 'slave labour'.
I think also of persons forced into
prostitution, many of whom are minors, as well as male and female sex
slaves. I think of women forced into marriage, those sold for
arranged marriages and those bequeathed to relatives of their
deceased husbands, without any right to give or withhold their
consent.
Nor can I fail to think of all those
persons, minors and adults alike, who are made objects of trafficking
for the sale of organs, for recruitment as soldiers, for begging, for
illegal activities such as the production and sale of narcotics, or
for disguised forms of cross-border adoption.
Finally, I think of all those kidnapped
and held captive by terrorist groups, subjected to their purposes as
combatants, or, above all in the case of young girls and women, to be
used as sex slaves. Many of these disappear, while others are sold
several times over, tortured, mutilated or killed.
Some deeper causes of slavery
4. Today, as in the past, slavery is
rooted in a notion of the human person which allows him or her to be
treated as an object. Whenever sin corrupts the human heart and
distances us from our Creator and our neighbours, the latter are no
longer regarded as beings of equal dignity, as brothers or sisters
sharing a common humanity, but rather as objects. Whether by coercion
or deception, or by physical or psychological duress, human persons
created in the image and likeness of God are deprived of their
freedom, sold and reduced to being the property of others. They are
treated as means to an end.
Alongside this deeper cause – the
rejection of another person’s humanity – there are other causes
which help to explain contemporary forms of slavery. Among these, I
think in the first place of poverty, underdevelopment and exclusion,
especially when combined with a lack of access to education or
scarce, even non-existent, employment opportunities. Not
infrequently, the victims of human trafficking and slavery are people
who look for a way out of a situation of extreme poverty; taken in by
false promises of employment, they often end up in the hands of
criminal networks which organise human trafficking. These networks
are skilled in using modern means of communication as a way of luring
young men and women in various parts of the world.
Another cause of slavery is corruption
on the part of people willing to do anything for financial gain.
Slave labour and human trafficking often require the complicity of
intermediaries, be they law enforcement personnel, state officials,
or civil and military institutions. 'This occurs when money, and not
the human person, is at the centre of an economic system. Yes, the
person, made in the image of God and charged with dominion over all
creation, must be at the centre of every social or economic system.
When the person is replaced by mammon, a subversion of values
occurs'.
Further causes of slavery include armed
conflicts, violence, criminal activity and terrorism. Many people
are kidnapped in order to be sold, enlisted as combatants, or
sexually exploited, while others are forced to emigrate, leaving
everything behind: their country, home, property, and even members of
their family. They are driven to seek an alternative to these
terrible conditions even at the risk of their personal dignity and
their very lives; they risk being drawn into that vicious circle
which makes them prey to misery, corruption and their baneful
consequences.
A shared commitment to ending slavery
5. Often, when considering the reality
of human trafficking, illegal trafficking of migrants and other
acknowledged or unacknowledged forms of slavery, one has the
impression that they occur within a context of general indifference.
Sadly, this is largely true. Yet I
would like to mention the enormous and often silent efforts which
have been made for many years by religious congregations, especially
women’s congregations, to provide support to victims. These
institutes work in very difficult situations, dominated at times by
violence, as they work to break the invisible chains binding victims
to traffickers and exploiters. Those chains are made up of a series
of links, each composed of clever psychological ploys which make the
victims dependent on their exploiters. This is accomplished by
blackmail and threats made against them and their loved ones, but
also by concrete acts such as the confiscation of their identity
documents and physical violence. The activity of religious
congregations is carried out in three main areas: in offering
assistance to victims, in working for their psychological and
educational rehabilitation, and in efforts to reintegrate them into
the society where they live or from which they have come.
This immense task, which calls for
courage, patience and perseverance, deserves the appreciation of the
whole Church and society. Yet, of itself, it is not sufficient to end
the scourge of the exploitation of human persons. There is also need
for a threefold commitment on the institutional level: to prevention,
to victim protection and to the legal prosecution of perpetrators.
Moreover, since criminal organisations employ global networks to
achieve their goals, efforts to eliminate this phenomenon also demand
a common and, indeed, a global effort on the part of various sectors
of society.
States must ensure that their own
legislation truly respects the dignity of the human person in the
areas of migration, employment, adoption, the movement of businesses
offshore and the sale of items produced by slave labour. There is a
need for just laws which are centred on the human person, uphold
fundamental rights and restore those rights when they have been
violated. Such laws should also provide for the rehabilitation of
victims, ensure their personal safety, and include effective means of
enforcement which leave no room for corruption or impunity. The role
of women in society must also be recognised, not least through
initiatives in the sectors of culture and social communications.
Intergovernmental organisations, in
keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, are called to coordinate
initiatives for combating the transnational networks of organised
crime which oversee the trafficking of persons and the illegal
trafficking of migrants. Cooperation is clearly needed at a number of
levels, involving national and international institutions, agencies
of civil society and the world of finance.
Businesses have a duty to ensure
dignified working conditions and adequate salaries for their
employees, but they must also be vigilant that forms of subjugation
or human trafficking do not find their way into the distribution
chain. Together with the social responsibility of businesses, there
is also the social responsibility of consumers. Every person ought to
have the awareness that 'purchasing is always a moral – and not
simply an economic – act'.
Organisations in civil society, for
their part, have the task of awakening consciences and promoting
whatever steps are necessary for combating and uprooting the culture
of enslavement.
In recent years, the Holy See,
attentive to the pain of the victims of trafficking and the voice of
the religious congregations which assist them on their path to
freedom, has increased its appeals to the international community for
cooperation and collaboration between different agencies in putting
an end to this scourge. Meetings have also been organised to draw
attention to the phenomenon of human trafficking and to facilitate
cooperation between various agencies, including experts from the
universities and international organisations, police forces from
migrants’ countries of origin, transit, or destination, and
representatives of ecclesial groups which work with victims. It is my
hope that these efforts will continue to expand in years to come.
Globalising fraternity, not slavery or
indifference
6. In her 'proclamation of the truth of
Christ’s love in society', the Church constantly engages in
charitable activities inspired by the truth of the human person. She
is charged with showing to all the path to conversion, which enables
us to change the way we see our neighbours, to recognise in every
other person a brother or sister in our human family, and to
acknowledge his or her intrinsic dignity in truth and freedom. This
can be clearly seen from the story of Josephine Bakhita, the saint
originally from the Darfur region in Sudan who was kidnapped by
slave-traffickers and sold to brutal masters when she was nine years
old. Subsequently – as a result of painful experiences – she
became a 'free daughter of God' thanks to her faith, lived in
religious consecration and in service to others, especially the most
lowly and helpless. This saint, who lived at the turn of the
twentieth century, is even today an exemplary witness of hope for the
many victims of slavery; she can support the efforts of all those
committed to fighting against this 'open wound on the body of
contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ'.
In the light of all this, I invite
everyone, in accordance with his or her specific role and
responsibilities, to practice acts of fraternity towards those kept
in a state of enslavement. Let us ask ourselves, as individuals and
as communities, whether we feel challenged when, in our daily lives,
we meet or deal with persons who could be victims of human
trafficking, or when we are tempted to select items which may well
have been produced by exploiting others. Some of us, out of
indifference, or financial reasons, or because we are caught up in
our daily concerns, close our eyes to this. Others, however, decide
to do something about it, to join civic associations or to practice
small, everyday gestures – which have so much merit! – such as
offering a kind word, a greeting or a smile. These cost us nothing
but they can offer hope, open doors, and change the life of another
person who lives clandestinely; they can also change our own lives
with respect to this reality.
We ought to recognise that we are
facing a global phenomenon which exceeds the competence of any one
community or country. In order to eliminate it, we need a
mobilisation comparable in size to that of the phenomenon itself. For
this reason I urgently appeal to all men and women of good will, and
all those near or far, including the highest levels of civil
institutions, who witness the scourge of contemporary slavery, not to
become accomplices to this evil, not to turn away from the sufferings
of our brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings, who are
deprived of their freedom and dignity. Instead, may we have the
courage to touch the suffering flesh of Christ, revealed in the faces
of those countless persons whom he calls 'the least of these my
brethren'.
We know that God will ask each of us:
What did you do for your brother? The globalisation of indifference,
which today burdens the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters,
requires all of us to forge a new worldwide solidarity and fraternity
capable of giving them new hope and helping them to advance with
courage amid the problems of our time and the new horizons which they
disclose and which God places in our hands”.
