Message of Sr. Patricia Murray, ibvm, UISG Executive Secretary, to the participants of the Talitha Kum 2nd General Assembly

Greetings to all of you gathered at Sacrofano. My name is Sister Pat Murray. I'm the Executive Secretary of the International Union of Superiors General.
Unfortunately, I can't be with you as I'm currently in India, but I wanted to send a message to you on this important occasion. I came to Rome in 1998. At that time, Sister Leah Ackerman had given an important conference here in Rome on the phenomenon of human trafficking, and she urged religious women and men to get involved and to make this a key ministry for this century.

Sister Leah's intervention had an effect on those of us gathered in Rome, and a small working group was established, led by Sister Caroline Price from Australia. Also at that time, Sister Eugenia Bonetti was doing extraordinary work at Ponte Galeria. But that small working group developed materials that were translated into multiple languages, and at the same time, Sister Bernadette Sangma, who sadly is deceased, was part of a training program with the International Organization of Migration, and they went, that program, spread from country to country, training sisters and their collaborators in the phenomena of human trafficking and how to counteract it.

I want to remember those who were part of those training programs, because they helped spread the word and spread this mission. And then Talitha Kum came into being. First of all, led by Sister Estrella Castelloni, who also is sadly deceased, then by Sister Gabriella Bottani, who gave many years of dedicated work drawing on her experience from Amazonia, and now recently, Sister Abby Avellino.

All of these have played an extraordinary role in spreading the word, but also in developing networks against human trafficking which now cover the globe. So as religious sisters, priests, brothers, and as our associates, our partners and collaborators, we have a vast network working to raise awareness, to counteract the effects of human trafficking, to rescue those who have been taken, and to rehabilitate those who seek to live a dignified and full life. I want to thank all of you who are gathered in Sacrofano for the part that you play, and I particularly want to thank young people who have become youth ambassadors because you will play a vital role in the future in enabling young people to confront this phenomenon and not to be trapped by those who seek to deceive them.

So my gratitude to each and every one of you. Let us pray for one another, let us do what we can so that no human being's dignity is affected by this phenomenon. God bless you and thank you for your work.