Catholic anti-trafficking advocates urge Congress to pass stalled trafficking bill
Catholic sisters, survivor advocates, and lawmakers met on Capitol Hill to push for bipartisan legislation strengthening anti‑trafficking programs and protecting victims. The briefing highlighted two bills: H.R. 1144, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025, and S. 1748, the Kids Online Safety Act, both aimed at reauthorizing federal programs and regulating social media to safeguard minors. Advocates stressed that prevention should be central, calling for increased investment in education, technology safeguards, and long‑term survivor support. Survivor Gina Cavallo shared her experience to illustrate how the bills could have altered her life and urged legislators to treat trafficking as a bipartisan human‑dignity issue.
2 months ago
Catholic leaders and survivor advocates gathered on Capitol Hill to press Congress for swift action on two bipartisan anti‑trafficking measures: the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1144) and the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1748). They argue the bills would reauthorize federal programs through 2029, expand prevention initiatives, strengthen survivor services, and impose new safeguards on social‑media platforms to protect minors from exploitation. 1 2
Rep. Chris Smith (R‑NJ) sponsors H.R. 1144, which updates the original 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act and seeks additional funding for education, technology safeguards, and law‑enforcement training. The measure is slated for House consideration but has been delayed by leadership. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R‑TN) sponsors S. 1748, the Kids Online Safety Act, which has yet to advance out of the Senate Commerce Committee. 1 2
Sister Ann Scholz, a founding member of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, urged lawmakers to move beyond awareness‑raising and make prevention the centerpiece of the national strategy. Fran Eskin‑Royer, executive director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, warned that both bills have languished despite bipartisan support and called on the public to contact their representatives. 1 2
Gina Cavallo, a survivor and president of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking, testified that the legislation could have altered the course of her life, noting that she was criminalized rather than protected when she fell victim to trafficking. Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, cited the Global Slavery Index, which estimates roughly 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery on any given day, underscoring the urgency of comprehensive reform. 1 2
Advocates warned that each day of delay increases risk to vulnerable populations, especially children online. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking described the postponement of reauthorization as “delay is denial,” urging House leadership to bring the bill to the floor without further postponement. 1 2
Both bills enjoy bipartisan backing but face procedural hurdles. The Catholic advocacy coalition continues to mobilize supporters, emphasizing that ending human trafficking aligns with the Church’s commitment to human dignity and the protection of the most vulnerable. 1 2
Catholic advocacy demands comprehensive anti‑trafficking legislation
Catholic teaching clearly supports the idea that anti-trafficking advocacy should translate into comprehensive, effective public policy—not just good intentions. Church documents describe human trafficking as a “crime against humanity,” stress the need for mobilization, coordination, and practical effectiveness, and repeatedly connect prevention of trafficking to legal protection, victim-centered care, and robust public accountability.
Catholic sources insist that trafficking is not merely a social problem to be condemned; it is an evil requiring institutions that work. The Holy See’s Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking frames the issue in terms of urgent global mobilization because trafficking exceeds the competence of any single community or country.
Pope Francis similarly emphasizes that trafficking is complex and dark, requiring coordination and the cooperation of different actors—explicitly including the political sphere.
“We need a mobilization comparable in size to that of the phenomenon itself.”
“Human trafficking… [requires] structured collaborations with public institutions and civil society organizations…”
From a Catholic perspective, that means anti-trafficking advocacy cannot stop at awareness campaigns. It must also press for real enforcement capacity, survivor protection systems, and legal frameworks capable of dismantling criminal networks.
“Comprehensive” does not mean one single law does everything; it means legislation should cover the full moral and practical arc: prevention, protection/victim care, justice/prosecution, and structural accountability.
Catholic teaching links trafficking to vulnerability created by unsafe, disorderly, or closed migration pathways. The Pastoral Orientations states that smuggling and trafficking can be prevented by providing more accessible legal pathways for safe and orderly migration, including humanitarian visas and family reunification.
It also highlights the need for reliable information before departure and for safety from illegal recruitment.
This is a key reason Church advocacy repeatedly supports legal reforms: if people have safer routes, predators lose leverage, and the recruitment-to-exploitation pipeline weakens.
Church teaching repeatedly emphasizes victim protection as a moral obligation, including timely and humane programs and special concern for children.
The USCCB underscores that Catholic services for newcomers operate in strict legal compliance and prioritize each child’s best interests, while also noting the Church’s advocacy for expanded protections for unaccompanied minors.
“Protecting these brothers and sisters is a moral imperative…”
Pope Francis likewise treats trafficking as an issue that requires responsibility to protect victims’ rights and safety, and he calls for “firmer political will.”
Catholic sources do not treat traffickers as merely individual criminals. The Pastoral Orientations calls for special and intense prosecution of organized crime involved in smuggling and trafficking, including prosecution of “connivance” by authorities.
Likewise, Church reflections warn against “declarationist nominalism”—the temptation to soften moral responsibility with language that doesn’t lead to effective action.
In other words, comprehensive legislation should be able to:
The USCCB frames advocacy within a broader Catholic duty of civic participation: the Gospel mandate to “welcome the stranger” requires Catholics to care for newcomers, including victims of human trafficking, and it calls for urgent reforms to fix broken systems.
That same USCCB document explicitly calls human trafficking a “crime against humanity,” and argues that trafficking victims—especially children—should receive care and protection, including special consideration for permanent legal status.
This connects directly to “comprehensive legislation”: Catholic moral responsibility extends to laws that shape how victims are identified, protected, and legally stabilized.
“Comprehensive” also implies Catholic concern for the justice side of legislation. The USCCB’s migration section stresses that detention should be used to protect public safety, not for deterrence or punishment, and it highlights the importance of due process and alternatives to detention.
While that passage is about immigration policy, its relevance to anti-trafficking is direct: policies that criminalize or punish vulnerable people improperly can undermine victim identification and recovery. The Holy See’s discussion of trafficking policy also highlights that progress includes ensuring victims are not inappropriately punished for acts committed as direct consequences of being trafficked.
So Catholic advocacy for legislation tends to emphasize not only enforcement, but also law’s moral integrity—treating victims as rights-bearing persons rather than as disposable “deterrence units.”
Catholic sources also point to the need for international cooperation and better information. The Holy See’s appraisal of the UN Global Plan notes that reliable global estimates of victims are limited, and this weakens more effective action.
That implies a legislative approach should include:
Pope Francis likewise stresses that much has been done but much remains, and that local Churches and Catholic organizations need coordination locally and internationally.
Within these Catholic sources, comprehensive legislation would typically involve:
In short, the Church’s rationale is not merely pragmatic: it flows from the truth that human trafficking profoundly disfigures the humanity of the victim and dehumanizes those who carry it out.
Catholic advocacy “demanding comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation” aligns with Church teaching because trafficking is a crime against humanity requiring effective institutions, coordinated action, and laws that protect victims while dismantling organized criminal structures.