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VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican cardinal says human slavery and trafficking are on the increase and are more open than they once were.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the president of the Santa Marta Group, held a news conference at the Vatican on Thursday with two survivors of human trafficking who shared their stories.
The Santa Marta Group, which was launched by Pope Francis in 2014, brings the Catholic Church together with police, governments and non-governmental organizations in the fight against human trafficking.
Nichols says the group's two-year report shows "the measure of the challenge that we face."
Pope Francis, he says, regards human slavery and trafficking as "an open wound in the flesh of humanity."
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