Did you know that California is one of the top four states in the nation for human trafficking according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation? The Bay Area is in fact, a national hotspot for the crime.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is hoping to open the eyes and hearts of Catholics to signs of this insidious crime with a four-part Zoom discussion series starting Jan. 27. Susan Patterson, author of “How You Can Fight Human Trafficking; Over 100 Ways To Make a Difference” will offer an overview of human trafficking in this first session and explain how faith communities can work to eradicate this form of human suffering.

“It’s a clear respect life issue,” Martinez-Mont, respect life coordinator for the archdiocese told Catholic San Francisco.

A member of the national Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking, the office organized the local educational series to dovetail with National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January, she said.

The full series also includes a Zoom rosary prayer meeting on Feb. 8, the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita. St. Josephine is believed to have been a child victim of human trafficking herself.

On Feb. 25, speakers Lisa Lungren and Grace Williams will address the fight against child sex trafficking. Lungren represents the U.S. Bishops and Williams is the founder of Children of the Immaculate Heart, a San Diego-based housing and rehabilitation center for sex trafficking survivors and their children. On March 9, Lungren will focus on how parishes can play a key role within dioceses….

Visit sfarch.org/trafficking

The above comes from a Jan. 7 story in Catholic San Francisco.