An International Conference on Trafficking in Persons, from 8 to 11 April, is  being held by the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD).

The proceedings, which are not open to the public, is being held at the Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano, on the outskirts of Rome, and will culminate on Thursday at noon in the New Synod Hall of the Vatican with a private audience with Pope Francis.

The Conference is an opportunity to focus on the practical means of implementing the Pastoral Guidelines on Human Trafficking (POHT) drawn up by the Section, approved by the Holy Father and presented to the press on 17 January. The meeting aims to promote a broader, deeper understanding of the phenomenon of trafficking and to help coordinate actions aimed at eradicating it.

Among the 200 participants is also Sr. Gabriella Bottani SMC, besides Bishops, priests, men and women religious, project coordinators and pastoral agents, representatives of Catholic organizations and foundations and trafficking experts from various parts of the world.

The Conference is designed to be highly interactive and participatory. The goal is to facilitate the exchange of experiences, points of view and effective practices in the Church’s ministry addressing the plague of trafficking. The sessions correspond to the sections of the POHT, and each one asks about the particular situation of women and children. The POHT will serve to guide the work of the Migrants and Refugees Section and its collaborators on this complex phenomenon which keeps on growing and which seriously concerns the whole Church and all of humanity.

The conclusions of the Conference and the Audience with the Holy Father can be followed on live-streaming on the channels of Vatican Media and Vatican News (http://www.comunicazione.va/content/spc/it/servizi/live.html) from 10.00 on Thursday 11 April.

Moreover, between 13.00 and 15.00 on Thursday, participants will be available for interviews outside the Aula Paolo VI, by prior arrangement with the Press Office of the Migrants and Refugees Section, writing to media@migrants-refugees.va