"Journeying in Dignity. Listen. Dream. Act": this is the theme of the tenth International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking on February 8, a day established in 2015 by Pope Francis on the feast day of Saint Bakhita, the Sudanese sister who was a victim of trafficking and a universal symbol of the Church's commitment against this scourge. Human trafficking is the process by which people are coerced or lured by false prospects, recruited, relocated, and forced to work and live in exploitative or abusive conditions. It is a phenomenon, as warned by recent United Nations reports, in continuous and dramatic evolution.

The day coincides with the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes and is an important opportunity for those who serve in Catholic health ministry to reflect on caring for those who are sick as well as those who provide care to them.

World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement led by Christian women who welcome all to join in prayer and action for peace and justice.

For International Women's Day 2024 and beyond, let's Inspire Inclusion. When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment. The aim of the IWD 2024 #InspireInclusion campaign is to collectively forge a more inclusive world for women.

The World Women’s Observatory (WWO) of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO), in the framework of our School of Synodality, invites you to participate in the “Conversations in the Spirit to be held next 23 April”. The Conversation in the Spirit model has been recommended for Synodal consultations as part of the Synod on Synodality and was used by the Synod delegates at the first session of the Synod General Assembly in Rome, in October 2023. All Catholic faith communities have been encouraged to learn, practice and share this discernment model of encounter, active listening, shared silence and collaborative discernment of the Spirit as an integral step in promoting wider participation, deeper communion and increased attention on the Gospel mission and the presence of the living Spirit of God in all those who gather in the name of Christ. We invite you to join a “Conversation in the Spirit” in small groups in different languages (English, Spanish and French), together with participants from more than 50 countries from five continents, to share your ideas, listen to the experiences and insights of others and discern on chapter 9 of the Synodal Assembly Synthesis document: “Women in the Life and […]