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| (Photo: Benjamin Harnwell talking to HM Queen Silvia at the Vatican) |
Rome,
28 April 2015
The DHI was honoured to
participate April 27th in an exclusive, invitation-only Vatican
seminar on Human trafficking.
Hosted by the
ever-impressive Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, in conjunction with the Swedish
government, the "Seminar on Trafficking - with a Special Focus
on Children" featured H.M. The Queen of Sweden, and DHI Board
Member H.E. Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council on
Justice and Peace.
After thanking her for
the work she was doing to highlight the terrible reality of the
trafficking of children Benjamin Harnwell, DHI Founder, asked Queen
Silvia - citing Mother Teresa - whether she also thought there was a
connection between abortion and the hardness of hearts shown towards
children after they are born.
The Queen, who is the
Swedish Head of State, made immediately clear that she didn't want to
- and cannot - enter the political debate on abortion. But as a
global leader in the campaign for children's welfare, her answer in
the context of the question deserves careful study and reflection.
Harnwell put to Her
Majesty that Mother Teresa suggested that a society that aborts its
children will never fully recognize the human dignity of people once
they're born. He asked whether the way society in the West deals with
children before they are born has somehow hardened our hearts to the
plight of children being trafficked in the West today. "Is there
is a correlation between these two events?," Harnwell asked.
Queen Silvia replied:
"I must say that
Mother Teresa was a wonderful person and all the work she did was
really fantastic. She was a Nobel Peace Prize winner - and so she
really was a model. To talk about humanity and dignity was very
important to her heart - I must say - and so I think she is very
right: and so whatever you can do to help the children - all children
- really, we should do.
The DHI will leave this
excerpt as it stands without any editorialising interpretation, and
encourages DHI supporters to keep the great Swedish people, and their
noble Queen, in their prayers: especially Queen Silvia's mission to
promote the rights of children - "all children" - in her
work.
Editors' Note:
Taken from the Workshop
programme:
"Inspired by the
words of Pope Francis that 'Human Trafficking is Modern Slavery'and
that this practice is a 'Crime against Humanity,'the purpose of the
seminar is to highlight the special situation of children as victims
of human trafficking as well as what measures, be it national
legislation or international efforts, can be taken to protect better
the rights of children. Practical examples of how children are
affected and of possible legal measures will be given at the
seminar."
The
Dignitatis
Humanae Institute aims
to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man
is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate
human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes
this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting
them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing
efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.
