HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior, Bishop of Harrisburg, has issued his first pastoral letter to the Catholics of the Diocese of Harrisburg, bringing to their attention the modern-day slavery of human trafficking and calling the faithful to no longer be silent.
In the pastoral letter, entitled Setting Captives Free: A Pastoral Letter on Human Trafficking, Bishop Senior shares that “I was shocked and appalled to find that within our own Diocesan territory – the fifteen counties of south central Pennsylvania – there are networks of human trafficking, particularly along the main corridors of travel, enslaving many individuals through illicit indentured servitude.
“Now is the time for Catholics to raise our voices anew in solidarity with the voiceless victims and survivors who suffer the indignity of human enslavement. In our neighborhoods and along our ways of commerce, they often go unheard and unnoticed. As people who champion a culture of life, we are called to respond with compassion and advocate on their behalf, recognizing that the evil of human trafficking does not occur in a vacuum,” the bishop says in the letter.
The letter includes information on indicators of human trafficking, recommended ways to safely help victims and survivors, and five ways Bishop Senior proposes Catholics can help to free those caught in the scourge of human trafficking. These five ways include:
- Intentionally fasting and abstaining from meat every Friday, making a petition to God to end human trafficking;
- Uprooting from within ourselves and our families the sins of pornography, online prostitution, massage parlors, exotic dance clubs, and the like;
- Learning about the scourge of human trafficking and then advocating for those who are suffering and exploited;
- Engaging with local elected officials, letting them know our concerns related to human trafficking; and
- Sharing Diocesan-produced stories on human trafficking in our area and the good work being done to support and help those in need.
“Joined to the spirit of the Jubilee year, I pray that we will be able to be the instruments of grace and mercy who help to set captives free – not simply by talk alone, but by actions that begin with our own personal path of conversion that spills over into the conversion of our times and our society,” said the bishop.
The pastoral letter was released in conjunction with the opening of the Jubilee Year. A Jubilee Year is traditionally proclaimed by the Universal Church every 25 years. It is a year set aside to encourage the faithful to embark on pilgrimages, to repent of their sins and forgive the sins of others, and to renew a focus on the spiritual life. Bishop Senior celebrated a Mass to open the Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Harrisburg at Saint Patrick Cathedral on Sunday, December 29th. The Mass included a procession and the reading of part of the letter from Pope Francis designating the Jubilee Year.
To read the full pastoral letter, please click here.
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