Besides tackling Christian rules for the road with its latest "10 Commandments for Drivers," the Vatican has demanded that the Church and the world make renewed efforts to liberate women from the violence of sex-trafficking.
The "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" has received the most attention for its inclusion of the driver's decalogue, but in the document-which is much broader in scope than simply tackling road rage and the like — the Vatican points out that the automobile plays a major role in facilitating modern prostitution.
The Catholic Church teaches that prostitution does "violence against women in the area of sexuality," and "Guidelines" quotes both the late Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI's condemnation of "the widespread hedonistic and commercial culture which encourages the systematic exploitation of sexuality and corrupts even very young girls into letting their bodies be used for profit."
"The victims of prostitutions are human beings, who in many cases cry out for help, to be freed from slavery, because selling one's own body on the street is usually not what they would voluntarily choose to do," says the Vatican document.
The Vatican blames the "sexual exploitation of women" as "a consequence of various unjust systems" that draw women into prostitution with the hope that they can look after their families, resolve debts, or abandon poverty. However these women deserve better, the Vatican says, rather than endure the "common thread of violence, abuse, mistrust and low self-esteem, as well as fear and lack of opportunities."
"They all bear deep wounds that need healing, whilst they seek relationships, love, security, affection, self-assertion and a better future for themselves and their families."
The document then recommends a two pronged approach by civil government and Church leaders to lift women out of prostitution. The government could help a cultural change by "associating criminal law with social condemnation." The bishops of the Church on the other hand would work for the liberation by "providing economic, educational and formational support for this purpose."
In a subtle way the Vatican document has particular significance for Germany, the homeland of Benedict XVI, which legalized prostitution and cooperated in receiving 40,000 more women for prostitution, many from the poorer countries of Eastern Europe, for the World Cup 2006 in Cologne.
Even more embarrassing for the Church in Germany was the bishop's lackluster response to the enormous evil that the German government was encouraging against the women. Further, a grave scandal was created when the Catholic Women's Welfare Service (SkF), which is overseen by the German bishops, actively cooperated in the construction of mega-brothels and "sex huts" for the prostitutes.
