TRENTON, N.J. (OSV News) — As the U.S. prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, faith leaders and others working to prevent human trafficking are seeking to raise awareness to prevent such abuse during the international soccer tournament.
During a June 9 webinar, “Human Trafficking and Major Sporting Events,” hosted by the New Jersey Catholic Conference in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, panelists noted that venues for the upcoming matches include MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Philadelphia Stadium, also known as Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia.
“As we prepare for the start of the 2026 World Cup that will draw millions of visitors, athletes, media representatives, and support personnel to our region. It’s important to understand both the opportunities and challenges these events can bring,” James King, NJCC executive director, said during the discussion.
Felicitas Brugo Onetti, the anti-trafficking education and outreach coordinator for the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services, said “the full continuum of the pro-life ethic” upholds “the dignity and rights of every person.”
“Combating human trafficking is a vital part of this continuum, protecting individuals from exploitation, ensuring their freedom and well-being throughout their lives,” as well as part of a call to care for God’s creation, she said.
“Catholic social teaching urges us to see trafficked persons, not as strangers, but as brothers and sisters, whose suffering is our shared responsibility,” she said.
Pennsylvania State Sen. Cris Dush, chair of that chamber’s Anti-Human Trafficking Caucus, said lawmakers are “trying to provide tools for the prosecutors, (and) the police officers, so that the prosecutors and the police officers can actually become trauma-informed,” and try to prevent victims from facing criminal charges themselves.
“One of the survivors that I spoke to, she’d been pulled over. She was with her trafficker, and there were drugs in the car as well, and she was made to take the fall for it, because he had other girls that could work — but he was the one that bailed her out. They get their victims caught up in law enforcement, and then they come and bail them out,” Dush said. “They’re seen as the savior of these people there. And the things that they do — to isolate the folks that they’ve got caught up in what’s called ‘the life’ within the community — they’re experts at manipulation.”
Faithful urged to take preventative action on human trafficking
In a similar message issued May 19, the Commission for the Protection of Minors of the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico urged the faithful to take preventive action against crimes of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, particularly before and during the World Cup.
In the statement, the commission expressed its “deep concern regarding the risks” that major events and associated travel and mass gatherings can pose for “children, adolescents, women, migrants, and people in vulnerable situations.”
“Major international sporting events are an opportunity for encounter, coexistence, fraternity, and cultural exchange,” the statement said. “However, they can also be exploited by criminal networks that operate through deception, manipulation, coercion, exploitation, and abuse of vulnerable people. Faced with this reality, as the Church we cannot remain indifferent. Human dignity cannot be bought, sold, or exploited. Every person, especially children and adolescents, must be protected, cared for, and accompanied. Human trafficking constitutes a grave violation of human rights and a deep wound to our society.”
