Pope Francis condemns female genital mutilation, women trafficking
February 7, 2022, 8:47 am

Pope Francis condemns female genital mutilation, women trafficking

Pope Francis-Catholic church head/Pixabay

The US News reported, citing Reuters, Pope Francis condemned female genital mutilation and trafficking of women for prostitution on Sunday, calling them humiliating affronts to women's dignity and urging officials to do everything possible to end both.

Francis said, speaking on the U.N. International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): "This practice, which is unfortunately common in various parts of the world, humiliates the dignity of a woman and gravely attacks her physical integrity."

According to the United Nations, FGM is concentrated in about 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East but is also practiced by immigrant populations elsewhere. The U.N. says, more than four million girls are at risk of undergoing FGM this year.

Francis, speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square for his weekly blessing and address, noted that the practice was often carried out in conditions that endangered a girl's health.

St Peter's square in Rome, Italy/Pixabay

In a related appeal, Francis called for more efforts to stop human trafficking, particularly of women and girls for forced prostitution.

"This is a deep wound inflicted by the shameful search for gain without any respect for the human person," he said ahead of the Catholic Church's International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking this Tuesday.

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He said: "There are so many girls that we see on the streets who are not free. They are slaves of traffickers who send them to work and beat them if they don't return with money. This happens today, in our cities."

They include Rome where authorities say criminal gangs lure women to Italy with the promise of jobs and then force them into prostitution, threatening to harm their families back home if they go to the police.

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Calling both FGM and trafficking of persons, "wounds of humanity," Francis urged leaders "to act decisively to stop both the exploitation as well as humiliating practices that afflict above all women and girls".

Catholic nuns in Rome are at the forefront of fighting trafficking of women. In 2016, Francis visited a Rome safe house where a charity protects women freed from pimps.

Source: usnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.