By Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman; Saturday, June 10, 2006; Page A19

"It is truly scandalous. People are talking about women, importing them to satisfy the base instincts of people associated with football. It is humiliating enough for me that football is linked with alcohol and violence. But this is worse. It is slaves that will come and be put into houses. Human beings are being talked about like cattle, and football is linked with that." -- Raymond Domenech, coach of the French World Cup soccer team

As the 2006 World Cup games get underway in Germany, tourists and soccer fans are being joined at the various competition venues by denizens of an international world of crime where human beings are bought and sold for profit. Read More

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Admin's Comment: I'm always sceptical of the way numbers, especially large numbers, are casually, even carelessly, used in the news. Large numbers impress. And large, round numbers, like 40,000, are sure to attract attention. But numbers, and our tendency to bandy them about aside, I don't doubt that there will be a large influx of soccer "courtesans" brought in to meet the "needs" of soccer fans during the 2006 world cup.

Read the article and take note of these lines: (1) "Human trafficking is the third-largest criminal industry in the world, after arms and drugs." (2) "Research has shown that those who are prostituted face a 62 percent chance of being raped or gang-raped, a 73 percent chance of being physically assaulted, and a chance of dying that is 40 times greater than that of the average person in their age group." (3) "The modern-day slave trade is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world."

While advocates working with the Polaris Project might use slightly exaggerated figures themselves, I don't doubt their premises. The use and abuse of women, regardless of age, as mere objects for sexual gratification is wrong. It violates our relationship with humanity both individually and collectively, and it violates our relationship with God.

Take whatever steps you can to fight against this kind of shameless sin.

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