Let us not grow tired of doing good.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week our diocese will take up the Catholic Relief Services Collection. Your generous support of this collection brings tangible hope to those most in need-providing emergency assistance to victims of war and natural disasters, offering aid and legal services to migrants and refugees, and extending pastoral care to seafarers, travelers, and others who often lack access to the sacraments. Among the most vulnerable served are those suffering from the grave injustice of human trafficking.

Across the world, millions of men, women, and children are coerced into forced labor, sexual exploitation, and modern slavery-an affront to the God-given dignity of the human person and a reality the Holy Father has rightly condemned as a crime against humanity. As disciples of Christ, we are called not only to recognize this suffering but to respond with compassion, prayer, and action, bringing the light of Christ to those who endure profound darkness.

Through the work of the Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church carries forward this mission in concrete ways. Programs such as Become a Shepherd equip parish communities to recognize and respond to human trafficking through education and advocacy, while the global COMPASS initiative unites Catholic and partner organizations to rescue and support victims of forced labor in the fishing and seafood industries.

This vital ministry-along with the work of five other Catholic agencies—is made possible through contributions to The Catholic Relief Services Collection. Your participation in this year's collection is a powerful expression of solidarity with our brothers and sisters who suffer, both throughout the world and here in our own country. I invite you to prayerfully consider how you might respond with generosity.

To learn more about the collection and the lives it touches, please visit www.usccb.org/catholic-relief.  Thank you for your continued faith, compassion, and generous support of The Catholic Relief Services Collection. Be assured of my prayers for you and your families.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend William A. Wack, CSC