Call to Action: Help Mexico fight against Slavery, Torture, and Murder.

I rarely use the Roman Anglican for anything which is not related to art or history and yet during the past week or so I reflected on how to use my discreetly large following in a constructive and helpful way, or at least I hope so, because of some tragic facts I learnt a few days ago. If you are a follower who’s easily touched by acts of human cruelty or compassion, please do read and make this known, if you’re allergic to social justice, I invite you to read further, as this will change your mind. My goal is to unite each other as the one body of Christ that we are and help as much as we can by bringing this following story to the attention of as many as possible. 

My name is Edoardo Fanfani, I am a Church of England intern in the Diocese of Europe parish of All Saints’ in Rome - every Tuesday I attend the Anglican Centre, funded in the late 1960s as a diplomatic mission of the Anglican Communion to the Roman Catholic Church - despite its main ecumenical focus, the centre also fosters collaboration between the two Churches for the prevention of poverty, social injustice, and most recently human trafficking, which is a nice word for slavery. 

Every Tuesday at 12,45, the Anglican Centre offers a community Eucharist followed by refreshments, my experience last week was not the usual one, as it touched me both on a human and personal level but also initiated action in what is my vocation as a Christian to achieve the common good between all people. 

Shortly before the intercessions at Mass, the brand-new director of the Centre, the Former Archbishop of the Indian Ocean, +Ian Ernest, invited the former Anglican Bishop of Mexico, +Sergio Carranza Gomez, and one of his priests: Fr Carlos Aurelio Ramirez, to share with us an extremely touching story: 

Just about a month ago, his 21 year old niece, Jennifer Hazel Romero-López, was kidnapped by some men of an official branch of the Mexican military in the northern region of the country, near the border with the United States - after her body was recovered, the police carried an autopsy and her kidneys were found to be removed. (The next few lines will be quite graphic). Not only that, the culprits tried to hide the deed by dressing the body in military uniform only to then proceed to shoot a bullet into the girl’s head, the process was entirely completed post-mortem. 

Hearing this by a sobbing relative, left me in an odd place - it was sad, deeply sad. A young woman, like any. Tragic. 

Young girls are groomed into this circle of evil by attractive and charming individuals, then the horror begins, manipulative behaviour ensues and the girls are moved from place to place, the luckiest ones become sexual slaves, never spending more than a couple of days in a single location, some of these the world’s most luxurious cities and resorts, the least lucky ones are used for organ-harvesting, are murdered and their organs are sold to China or India through the black market. 

She is only one of dozens of young women and men who suffered a similar fate in that area of Mexico, where sadly corruption starts from the very governmental forces that should protect their citizens - it is a terrible injustice and only one among the many victims of the so called Tamaulipas-Guerrero case. 

Fr Carlos Aurelio Ramirez as an Anglican priest reminds us that for these monsters, victims come from any religion and background, and he works with the Roman Catholics as well as the Lutherans to fight this evil, risking his life day by day. His laudable charisma and great strength should be an inspiration to us all - even we, in the comfort of our homes can do something, we must do something, both prayer and action. These young people could be our relatives, and they are our relatives in Christ, feeling the pain that their relatives might have experienced must force us to act. 

This tragedy called me as a Christian to act, it is true that we are only individuals, but it is when individuals get together in the name of Christ that change begins to happen. I feel called to share this with my public and I invite you to share this with your friends and relatives so that we can help the present slaves and walking victims in memory of those who died, let us help Fr Carlos and let us remember that Christianity is first and foremost this. The Anglican Centre, and other foundations in Rome, have pledged to act on this, you can do your part as well. Christ calls us to do so. 

This is the real Christian fight. Fight for Christ, with his love, for his people. These people’s pain is God’s pain. We can and must stop the horror. I don't care if you share this or not, but do let people know. We are called to.

The Anglican Centre in Rome, All Saints' Church in Rome, Other Foundations, The Roman Anglican, Edoardo Fanfani, and others, stand with Fr Carlos and the victims. Show your support.