The event will feature a moderated conversation between Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect, Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development, and John Carr, Initiative Director, with responses from Arturo Chavez, President and CEO of Mexican-American Catholic College, and Amy Rauenhorst Goldman, CEO and Chair of GHR Foundation.
Pope Francis has chosen Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana to lead the new Vatican Dicastery on Integral Human Development. As the Pope’s key ally, Cardinal Turkson leads the Vatican’s teaching and advocacy on issues of justice and peace, economic inequality, and global solidarity. As a priest, bishop and Cardinal from Africa, Peter Turkson brings unique experience, knowledge and urgency to promoting and applying Catholic teaching on human life and dignity, a priority for the poor, and the pursuit of peace. Join us for this unique conversation and opportunity to ask questions of Pope Francis’ key collaborator in sharing his social mission and message throughout the world.
For more information, please visit the event website.
As institutions inspired by faith, Catholic colleges and universities live their values in many ways, including through academic pursuits, business decisions, and student activities. One way Catholic colleges and universities reflect their mission to care for the poor and vulnerable throughout the world by protecting the rights of workers, upholding ethical economic practices and supporting sustainable environmental practices is through fair trade.
Fair trade is a designation placed on products to ensure that producers are paid a fair price for what they create by examining factors like price, labor conditions, sustainability, and community development. Carroll College and St. Norbert College are two examples of Catholic institutions that have successfully implemented different strategies to raise awareness for fair trade products and practices in creative ways.
Carroll College has promoted fair trade through academic courses, student life, and the Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice. Fair trade principles and practices were introduced in the class “Theological Foundations,” part of Carroll’s core curriculum, as a case study during a unit on Catholic Social Teaching. Another course, “Market Research,” also examined the issue of fair trade through a research project on fair trade awareness in the community and on campus. Using research from this project, students from the Enactus student club, which focuses on developing business skills, designed a pocket-sized brochure on fair trade and Catholic Social Teaching, which also listed businesses in Helena selling fair trade products. More than 4,000 copies of the brochure were distributed across the Carroll and Helena communities. The student life department, with the Hunthausen Center, also sponsored a public fair trade market in the campus center where fair trade products were made available for purchase. Additionally, three “Fair Trade Friday” events featuring free samples of fair trade products and information on fair trade practices were held in the campus center, promoting greater awareness of the issue. These fair trade–focused projects were funded through the Global Solidarity Grant program, a collaborative program of ACCU and Catholic Relief Services that awards funding to Catholic colleges and universities to increase awareness of global injustice and expand student involvement in bringing about change. After signing a fair trade resolution, Carroll College became a Fair Trade certified university in 2016, the first university in Montana to be certified as such.
Another Global Solidarity Grant recipient, St. Norbert College, incorporated art into the discussion of fair trade. On exhibition in the Baer Gallery of the Bush Art Center was photographer Lisa Kristine’s work “Enslaved: A Visual Story of Modern Day Slavery.” St. Norbert hosted a reception with Catholic Relief Services called “Shine a Light” that used the powerful images on display to present a testimony of the need for change in the area of fair and ethical trade. Featured speaker Caroline Brennan, Senior Communications Officer at Catholic Relief Services, discussed the effects of fair trade programs around the world and how attendees could become involved. She also shared her own story and photographs as a member of the CRS emergency response team to an audience of faculty, students, and members of the local community. At the end of the reception, hundreds of postcards in support of the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act were signed by visitors to the exhibit and reception attendees and given to representatives of Catholic Relief Services to send to Congressional representatives.
St. Norbert College students also run a fair trade business called Discoveries International. Run by international business students, Discoveries International sells fair trade items, such as jewelry, coffee, and tea, donating the profits to charities chosen by the group. For the 2016-2017 academic year, Discoveries International is donating to Feed My Starving Children, The Zambia Project, and Doctors without Borders. This business incorporates support for ethical markets with the teaching of management skills to students who are going to be involved in the international market.
Bring Fair Trade to Your Campus
Colleges and universities can connect with Catholic Relief Services Ethical Trade to help promote fair trade principles on their campus. CRS Ethical Trade provides academic resources that include various modules related specifically to incorporating fair trade and labor issues in the curriculum. In addition, they provide campus engagement materials, ranging from prayers to event ideas, that can help raise awareness on the issue of fair labor practices in the campus community. From their experience working with many campuses on promoting fair trade, CRS Ethical Trade tells success stories of Catholic colleges and universities that used the CRS Student Ambassador program to incorporate educational and faith formation resources into campus life while faculty offer academic modules in courses. In addition to these online resources, CRS staff members are available to present on ethical trade and its importance to the campus community.
Many Catholic universities also work with Fair Trade Campaigns to become a fair trade–certified university through their multi-step process. To start, a campus creates a team to support fair trade, who then reaches out to campus outlets to ensure a minimum of two fair trade products are available in campus-owned and -operated venues. The team works to grow the movement, using fair trade products at university meetings, events, and in university offices, and planning fair trade educational events or celebratory activities. The final step to certification is for the college or university to develop and pass a fair trade resolution. Fair Trade Campaigns has a toolkit available for ideas on how to meet these goals. As of February 2017, 21 Catholic colleges and universities are certified as fair trade institutions. ACCU provides more information on how to become a fair trade university, why Catholic institutions value fair trade, and additional creative ways to incorporate fair trade on campus on its Fair Trade webpage, where visitors can also download the Fair Trade and Catholic Higher Education brochure.
A rising number of Catholic colleges and universities are using their purchasing power as a way of expressing their Catholic mission by supporting the rights of workers to a fair wage and safe working conditions through fair trade items. Carroll College and St. Norbert College are engaging the issue of justice for workers, global solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, and care for creation through a variety of programs and awareness campaigns. By bringing together students through business practices, academic courses, and cultural events, these colleges are showing how fair trade practices in the daily workings of an institution can make a global impact.
Camilla MacKenzie is an undergraduate student at The Catholic University of America and the Peace and Justice Intern at the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
In conjunction with the secular holiday National Maritime Day on May 23, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced that the U.S. Church will observe the annual National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea. All are encouraged to pray for and remember all those “who are seafarers, fisherman, and those whose occupations require them to spend most of the year away from their families, in the high seas, and sometimes facing dangerous situations,” remarked Bishop J. Kevin Boland.
As 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea and the waterways, it is important to remember the 1.2. million seafarers worldwide that make this possible. In addition to praying for and remembering them, we must also be aware of the harsh conditions and danger that they sometimes face.
modern slavery at sea […] occurs at all stages of the seafood supply chain, from catching the fish to processing and shipping it for export. The virtually unregulated fishing industry in many countries, coupled with the global demand for cheap seafood, create the lawless condition under which trafficking at sea flourishes.
CCOAHT reports that trafficked workers are subject to extremely long work-days, hazardous conditions, starvation, disregard for medical needs and injuries, beatings, torture, and even killings. Workers can be lured into modern slavery “by false promises of living-wage and incur crippling debts that then become their trafficking situation,” and migrants are especially vulnerable.
Donate or take action with Apostleship of the Sea, an Catholic charity that seeks to “provide practical and pastoral care to all seafarers, regardless of nationality, belief or race.”
Pray with us:
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Mother of God and our Mother, you know all the dangers of soul and body that threaten mariners. Protect your sons and daughters who work and travel on the waters of the world, and protect also their families that await their return. Star of the Sea, Mother of the Church, give light and strength to those chaplains and lay ministers who bring the love of your Divine Son among mariners. Fill their hearts with a supernatural and life-giving zeal for the apostolate. Star of the Sea, light shining in the darkness, be a guide to those who sail amid the storms and dangers of life. Enlighten the hearts of ardent disciples and bring us all to the safety of heaven’s port. Amen. – Apostleship of the Sea
How does your college or university engage with anti-maritime trafficking efforts? Let us know!
Since its inception, the Church has been a staunch defender of human dignity. One violation of this God-given quality is human trafficking, which the UN Office on Drugs and Crime defines as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force […] for the purpose of exploitation,” which can include forced prostitution, other types of sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, or forced removal of organs. The UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute estimates that there are 2.7 million victims of trafficking around the world.
The pervasiveness and horror of this crime make the issue particularly pressing. Pope Francis says, “It constitutes a grave violation of the human rights of those victimized and is an offense against their dignity, as well as a defeat for the worldwide community.” He calls for “a shared sense of responsibility and firmer political will to gain victory on this front.” Human trafficking clearly calls for a response from Catholics, especially as a violation of the Catholic Social Teaching principles of human life and dignity, human rights and responsibilities, preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, dignity of work and workers’ rights, and solidarity.
These principles guide many Catholic colleges and universities in their involvement in anti-human trafficking work and research. Saint Vincent College (SVC) received a Global Solidarity Grant for their anti-human trafficking project, “Connecting the Local Community to the Global Issue of Human Trafficking.” The grant, offered jointly by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and Catholic Relief Services, funded a special opportunity to learn about human trafficking to the college’s annual Campus Ministry Spring Break Service Trip to Brazil. On that trip, participants prepared meals, worked with orphans and abandoned elderly, served at an AIDS clinic, taught language, and played with the children at the Missionary Sisters of Christ’s schools in São Paulo. In addition, they heard presentations on human trafficking in Brazil from the Sisters, who work closely with survivors of human and sex trafficking. Speakers shared their firsthand experiences of sheltering survivors and educating the vulnerable population about the threat of human trafficking. Fr. Killian Loch, director of campus ministry, says it was “very powerful being with [the Sisters] and seeing their joy, and listening to them speak of true freedom.”
Saint Vincent College students listen to the Missionary Sisters of Christ tell their stories. Photo courtesy of Saint Vincent College.
To engender true freedom for all victims and survivors of human trafficking, it is essential to raise awareness on the issue. On the SVC campus, the Global Solidarity Grant also went towards assisting students on an anti-human trafficking committee in observing the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint for victims of slavery and trafficking. The feast day coincides with the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, with students attending Mass and an awareness campaign. In addition, the committee hosts a Day of Awareness in April, which includes informational displays and activities such as prayer sessions, art demonstrations, letter-writing to trafficking victims, and speakers from external organizations like the Pittsburgh-based Project to End Human Trafficking. Overall, the events on campus as well as the spring break service trip flow from a desire among students and faculty “for ways to become more connected to Catholic Social Teaching,” says Fr. Loch.
Another example of deepening connections to CST in the area of human trafficking is found at the College of St. Benedict (CSB)in Minnesota. In 2016, CSB Campus Ministry’s Alternative Break Experience (ABE) ministry coordinates a yearly service trip on sex trafficking awareness in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Participants and coordinators partner with Breaking Free, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization that helps women and girls “escape systems of prostitution and sexual exploitation” through survivor-led and victim-centered “services, housing, and education.” The trip’s effects are lasting; in a reflection from last year’s ABE, one student wrote, “Breaking Free and the reality of sex trafficking demonstrated the importance of communities so powerfully and I will be very intentional about engaging and being a part of my community.”
CSB Campus Ministry’s Spirituality and Social Justice (SSJ) ministry coordinates a yearly Sex Trafficking Awareness Week, including a collection at Mass for a Sexual Assault Center; presentations on topics such as “Transforming Porn Culture,” sex trafficking basics, and advocacy. Carley Castellanos, assistant director of campus ministry, reports that around 200 students, staff, and faculty members participated in the activities, including the Handprint Campaign. Castellanos says the Campaign encourages the campus community “to stamp their hand and commit to ending sex trafficking.”
Participants also partake in advocacy by encouraging their senators and representatives to cosponsor the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act, an initiative led by the CSB Catholic Relief Services Ambassadors. Castellanos writes that the activities flow from both CST and Benedictine Values, including Awareness of God, Community Living, Dignity of Work, Hospitality, Justice, Listening, Moderation, Peace, Respect for Persons, Stability, and Stewardship.
Another unique example of anti-human trafficking efforts at Catholic colleges is found at the University of San Francisco (USF) within the School of Management. Professor Marco Tavanti, Ph.D., director of the Master of Nonprofit Administration (MNA) program, president and co-founder of the World Engagement Institute (WEI), and director of the Academic Global Immersion (AGI) program, spearheaded the May 2015 USF for Freedom Symposium (USF4Freedom) with colleague Dr. David Batstone, who founded the Not for Sale campaign. Tavanti says USF4Freedom was organized by the students who participated in the AGI-Rome program, an immersion trip for MNA students “in collaboration with Jesuit Refugee Services on international practices and global policy challenges facing refugee service management, forced migrations, and human trafficking,” the program’s website states. The Symposium consisted of a day of lectures given by leaders in various Bay Area nonprofits that serve human trafficking and modern slavery victims, such as Jesuit Refugee Services, Not for Sale, and others that seek to “accompany and advocate for the underrepresented.”
Tavanti emphasizes that USF4Freedom, AGI-Rome, and the partnership with the WEI seek to inspire and equip students to act. He says USF4Freedom and AGI-Rome inspired the development of a Professional Graduate Certificate in Humanitarian Emergency Management “as a way to build capacity in building careers in this field.” He also notes the influence of USF’s Jesuit animation on USF4Freedom: “It sprang from the importance of addressing the Jesuit values of ‘accompaniment’ along with advocacy and service, to inspire our reflections and preparations.” Pope Francis also played a large role: Having met with the Holy Father in January 2016 during the second AGI-Rome, Tavanti and his students “have been further inspired by Pope [Francis’s] call for social justice and human dignity.”
A final example of a campus working against human trafficking is Loyola University New Orleans (LOYNO). LOYNO’s Modern Slavery Research Project (MSRP), founded and directed by English Professor Laura Murphy, Ph.D., “is working toward emancipating victims in Southeast Louisiana and the U.S. from modern slavery through data-based research and training that better serves victims and supports the advocates who make escape possible,” the project’s website explains. In addition to research and training, MSRP works on legislative advocacy and education in partnership with the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives; runs the Make Escape Possible campaign; publishes reports such as its latest on Trafficking Among Homeless Youth; coordinates events such as book talks, storytelling, and film screenings; and works with the Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force in a project funded by the Department of Justice.
Undergraduate research assistants and interns are involved significantly in the MSRP. The lead intern, Lauren Stroh ’17, is “happy to be on board and working alongside the rest of [the] team to collect real data on the issue” to better inform a range of audiences, from legislators to “individuals involved in combating this issue firsthand.” Stroh has become one of those individuals as she has “had the opportunity to listen to survivor narratives at length” and has found that “there is truly no one who understands what these survivors have gone through better than they do, and hearing them speak about their experiences has done wonders to educate [me] about […] modern slavery.” Stroh hopes to extend her experience with this issue “beyond the United States to the world abroad” through a potential Fulbright scholarship.
From these examples, it is evident that Catholic higher education fosters a thirst for knowledge and a desire to act on human trafficking issues. The animation of charisms such as the Jesuit values of accompaniment and solidarity or the Benedictine principles of the dignity of work and respect for persons has allowed students, staff, and faculty to soar in their work against modern slavery. Pope Francis has said that part of our response to human trafficking must be to “provide victims with… the possibility of building a new life.” As we continue to contemplate the New Life given to us this Easter season, let us follow the example of Catholic higher education in providing that new life for our sisters and brothers in modern slavery.
Justine Worden is an undergraduate student at Georgetown University and the Peace and Justice Intern at the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
Interested in learning more about what you can do to help stop human trafficking and modern slavery? USCCB’s Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT) and countless other organizations are excellent resources for information and ways to get involved in the fight for human dignity. Here is a list of just a few:
Internship/Volunteer Opportunity with USCCB office of Migration and Refugee Services (MRS). MRS is seeking an undergraduate or graduate student to collaborate directly with anti-trafficking organizations, both faith-based and NGO. For more information contact Christopher Ljunquist.
Catholics Confront Global Poverty highlights advocacy opportunities, including specific legislation to urge your representatives to support.
Human trafficking, sex trafficking, and modern slavery are internationally pervasive crimes that demand our attention and action. Whether you are just getting started or have been a long supporter of anti-trafficking work, we hope you find these resources helpful.
How does your college or university combat human trafficking? Let us know!
During Lent, Catholics are called to abstain from consuming meat on Fridays to be in greater solidarity with those in need, leading many to eat more fish throughout the season. This year, the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT) has started a campaign to call for the end of exploitative labor in seafood harvest and production.
CCOAHT’s Lenten Postcard Campaign is an easy way to get involved with anti-human trafficking efforts this Lent. The campaign was launched in an effort to encourage “greater vigilance on the part of our suppliers to ensure that the seafood we eat is not tainted by slave labor.” The postcards, ask that seafood suppliers “do all in their power to guarantee that their supply chains are free of forced labor.” The two suppliers CCOAHT has chosen to target are Costco and StarKist.
Anyone can download the postcard to Costco here, and the postcard to StarKist here. To have printed and stamped postcards sent to your parish, school, or social justice ministry please contact CCOAHT at cljunquist@usccb.org.
How is your college or university engaging with anti-human trafficking efforts? Let us know!
Earlier this month, Seattle University and the University of Washington came together to bring awareness of homelessness in Seattle to their campuses.
The two campuses jointly sponsored an event, titled “Ending Homelessness in Seattle,” featuring Edward Murray, Mayor of Seattle, along with experts on homelessness, according to a National Catholic Reporter article.
For Seattle University president Fr. Stephen Sundborg, SJ, the issue of homelessness is of paramount importance for both the University and Seattle as a whole. He noted that while three of five Seattle homeless men and women are in shelters or transitional housing in the winter, two of five are still on the street. He says, “It is not like this is something ignored or underplayed in our region, […] but it remains a state of emergency – a shock and scandal that the problem is getting worse rather than better.”
The relationship between the world’s poor, ecological degradation, and climate change has received renewed attention since the release of Laudato Si’. In a recent forum, Fordham University explored these topics and more.
On November 3, the University’s Center on Religion and Culture hosted a panel entitled: “Our Planet’s Keeper?: The Environment, the Poor, and the Struggle for Justice”. The forum engaged religious and secular perspectives on “the twin challenges of ecological devastation and global poverty”. The speakers included:
Óscar Andres Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; former president of Caritas Internationalis, a global confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University; special advisor on millennium development goals to the United Nations secretary-general.
Moderated by Joan Rosenhauer, executive vice president of Catholic Relief Services, the panel brought to the table essential insights into Catholic social teaching, environmental in justice, and the encyclical in general.
On Laudato Si’ and its potential to change the world, Sachs responded by citing a historic example of the political and perhaps life-saving power of Catholic social teaching. He reminded us of the impact that Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in terris had on former President John F. Kennedy, the Cold War, and international nuclear policy. Sachs cited the seemingly coincidental relationship between the publishing of the encyclical, JFK’s commencement speech on peace at American University, and the signing of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation:
“The encyclical played a fundamental role in shifting the world. And here we are today. It’s happening again.”
Cardinal Rodriguez spoke on Pope Francis’ authority on the matter of environmental injustice. In response to critiques that the pontiff should not meddle in political or scientific affairs he said:
“This is wrong. The encyclical talks about global warming in passing. Its main argument is that the earth is our common home. And every house needs maintenance—especially when we live in a house that is a little old.”
How is your campus engaging environmental justice? Let us know!
This symposium brings together the Pro-life and Social Justice Ministries for dialogue, including how these movements can work together to promote a culture of life and dignity. Participants will explore the latest research on viewpoints of people in the pews related to life and justice issues. A special welcome is extended to all who are attending the March for Life including the youth and young adult community as well as those who are attending the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering. This event will include a series of integrated roundtables where the Pro-Life, disability, death penalty, and social justice communities will be brought together to explore models of dialogue and collaboration between their respective ministries. Speakers will assist participants by presenting research and best practices on a collaborative approach to confront the throw-away culture and acknowledge the dignity of all human life. Event fees apply – $100 for non-members, $85 for members. For information about discounts and scholarships contact coordinator@catholicroundtable.org. Scholarships or discounts will be available for young adult participants.
Schedule for the Day:
March for Life: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Symposium: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Refreshments (4:00-4:30)
Prayer – Cardinal O’Malley, prayer and intro (4:30-4:45)
Research presentation: What are the challenges to collaboration between pro-life and SAD, feeling called to do God’s work and desire to overcome challenges but recognizing the challenges and looking for leadership from bishops on this. (4:45-5:20)
Q and A (5:20-5:40)
Panel: Four people presenting on conversion into collaboration to actually engage one another, the Pro-life and SAD will each look at two champion collaborators who come from different diocesan structures and who can share from a different model of collaboration. (5:40-6:25)
Refreshments (6:25-6:40)
Roundtable: How do work together with this theme (throwaway culture) with each table having an issue focus. (6:45-7:15)
Large group presentation/discussion (7:20-7:45)
Closing Prayer, announcement and thank you (7:45-8:00)
Want to learn more about Catholic Social Teaching?The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are offering a new video series just for you!
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) 101 is a seven video series on the social doctrine or tradition of the Church. Each video will feature one of the seven themes of CST:
ACCU Peace and Justice 
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