蜜芽传媒

In today鈥檚 world questions often arise about the role religion plays or does not play in society. Part of that debate centres on the relationship between religion and the state, with some suggesting a sharp separation of the two.

Often in such arguments, a sort of state-centric solution to all society鈥檚 problems can be presented. But healthy democracies always have a good distinction between the role and limits of the state on the one hand, and the freedoms of society on the other.

This past weekend in Rome we witnessed a fine example, not of a binary separation, but of a partnership approach to tackling a contemporary problem.

The Santa Marta conference on human trafficking gathered for its latest annual meeting, bringing together NGOs, faith groups, governments, police forces and researchers to exchange ideas and monitor progress on tackling modern slavery. It is an area of policy where the UK has taken an international lead and shown how a partnership between the agencies of the state and civil society work best when they address a problem together. Credit for that has to go to the Prime Minister, Cardinal Nichols, the current and previous Commissioner of the Met Police, the 蜜芽传媒 Secretary, the anti-slavery commissioner and countless others.

Speaking at the conference, Pope Francis said 鈥渕odern slavery is "far more widespread than previously imagined, even 鈥� to our scandal and shame 鈥搘ithin the most prosperous of our societies." The pope cited God's question to Cain from the Book of Genesis -- "Where is your brother?" -- and said it "challenges us to examine seriously the various forms of complicity by which society tolerates, and encourages trafficking and slavery.鈥�

This partnership between state and civil society has raised awareness and put the issue on the national agenda with legislative and policy changes. That practical response is far removed from the academic and polemical debate about the relationship between Church and state or state and society. For it simply gets on with the job in front of it, and in doing so helps to illustrate the role that faith and civil society can play in our world in complementing the state to tackle problems which are beyond the scope of any one actor alone.

Such approaches not only help to solve problems, but they also enrich both state and wider civil society and encourage a vibrant pluralism which is organic to the UK tradition.

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