Pope
Francis on Friday made a surprise visit to a Rome safe house in Italy where a
Catholic charity is protecting women freed from forced prostitution.
There,
the pope met 20 ex-prostitutes from Romania, Albania, Nigeria, Tunisia, Ukraine
and Italy, encouraging them to be strong as they start new lives, a Vatican
official told Reuters.
Seven
of the women are from Nigeria.
A
statement from the Vatican said the pope made the visit to the Pope John XXIII
Community, started by an Italian priest to help free women from their pimps in
order to “appeal to consciences to fight human trafficking.”
Under
his papacy, the Vatican has hosted series of conferences bringing together
international police organisations, legislators and religious groups to find
ways to work together to fight human trafficking and modern slavery.
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