Calling human trafficking "a horrific crime against the basic dignity and rights of the human person," Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif., said the Catholic bishops "pledge to use the resources of the church to help end this affliction."

"We also pledge to use our teaching authority to educate Catholics and others about human trafficking," said Bishop Barnes, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration.

"It is hard to imagine that, in the 21st century, fellow human beings could be exploited and forced to work in the sex industry and other industries against their will," Bishop Barnes said in a statement released this month by the U.S. bishops' conference in Washington.

"As many as 700,000 persons are trafficked globally each year," the bishop said, including an estimated 17,500 trafficked each year into the United States. "Men, women and children have been forced to work in prostitution and have been forced into different types of manual labor, without pay or protection."

Human trafficking, Bishop Barnes said, is "a modern-day form of slavery, and it is the largest manifestation of slavery today."

He cited Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 statement, "Migrations: A Sign of the Times," in which the pope deplored the "trafficking of human beings --- especially women --- which flourishes where opportunities to improve their standard of living or even to survive are limited."

Bishop Barnes also quoted Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., from his remarks at a 2004 press conference announcing the launch of an anti-trafficking initiative in central Florida: "The Catholic Church ... in the United States stands ready to work with our government to end this scourge. We cannot rest until trafficking in human persons is eliminated from the globe."

While the church provides social services to rescued human trafficking victims, "much more must be done," Bishop Barnes said.

"Catholics in our own country can help, particularly by educating fellow Catholics and others about the realities of this crime. Parishes can serve as a meeting place to discuss this issue and as a center for action to help identify survivors and provide them support," he said.

"We call upon all Catholics to seek ways to assist dioceses and local governments in helping survivors," he added. "Catholics also can help educate fellow Catholics and others about the human consequences of this crime."

Bishop Barnes called for more effective implementation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, saying the law has not protected survivors of human trafficking or held accountable nations which do not apprehend or prosecute traffickers.

He also called on Congress "to enact comprehensive immigration reform, which would provide legal avenues for men, women and their families to enter the country and work legally and safely." He said, "Undocumented persons eager to find work are easy prey for human traffickers."

Bishop Barnes said the U.S. government must emphasize the recovery and care of victims, especially "child trafficking victims, who are most susceptible to the long-term horrors of this crime."

Economic conditions in their homelands often lead people to seek work in another country and that, combined with "demand in developed nations for the services of the sex trade and forced labor," drives trafficking, Bishop Barnes said.

"Human trafficking will never be truly defeated without eliminating the consumerism which feeds it and prosecuting those actors in receiving countries, including our own, that benefit because of the exploitation of vulnerable human beings," he said.

---CNS