In Brief

Pope Francis to Russia: Destroying grain, creating hunger is ‘grave offense to God’

VATICAN CITY — Destroying grain is a “grave offense to God,” Pope Francis said, appealing to authorities in Russia as “my brothers” and urging them to resume cooperating with a United Nations’ initiative to guarantee the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine. “Let us not cease to pray for beleaguered Ukraine, where the war is destroying everything, even grain,” he said after praying the Angelus with people gathered in St. Peter’s Square July 30, 2023. “This is a grave offense to God, because grain is his gift to feed humanity; and the cry of millions of brothers and sisters who suffer hunger rises to heaven,” he said. “I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, that the Black Sea Initiative may be restored and grain may be transported safely,” he said. The pope was referring to a U.N. initiative that started in Aug. 2022, allowing millions of tons of grain and other crops harvested in Ukraine to be exported across the Black Sea. However, Russian government authorities announced July 17 it would no longer take part in the agreement. Since then Ukraine’s ports on the Danube and grain storage facilities have been targeted by drone and missile strikes; Ukrainian authorities said 60,000 tons of agricultural products were destroyed at a site in Odesa, estimated to have been able to feed 270,000 people for a year.

Human trafficking is modernday slavery that can happen just around the corner, victims say

LONDON — Human trafficking doesn’t happen only in far away places where human rights are neglected. It happens around the corner. It’s modern-day slavery, say those working to stop it around the world. “Slavery didn’t end in the United States with the Civil War and the 13th Amendment in 1865. Legal slavery ended,” said Greg Burke, a former Vatican spokesman who develops strategic partnerships for the anti-slavery charity Arise. “What continues to this day is people – most of them young women – being enslaved in massage parlors, nail salons and prostitution rings, working to pay off massive debts they owe to the people who have tricked and trafficked them,” Burke said. July 30 is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which aims to raise awareness about the victims of human trafficking and promote and protect their rights. This year’s theme, “Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind,” calls on governments, law enforcement, public services, and civil society to assess and enhance their efforts to strengthen prevention, identify and support victims, and end impunity. Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joined humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in recognizing World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions said that “Salesian missionaries in many countries educate youth about the dangers associated with migration, which can put them at risk of trafficking and those who might wish them harm.”