‘Hugging mother’ Mata Amritanandamayi meets Pope Francis in Vatican

Amritanandamayi and other religious leaders had gathered in Rome on the 
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

Written by Shaju Philip | Thiruvananthapuram | Posted: December 2, 2014 10:24 pm

Hindu spiritual leader from Kerala Mata Amritanandamayi has met Pope Francis in Vatican on Monday.

Her Math in Kollam said the spiritual leader, known as hugging mother, sat next to Pope and signed the joint declaration of religious leaders against modern slavery. The declaration underlined that slavery, in terms of human trafficking, is a crime against humanity. Leaders of various Christian denominations as well as Budhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths had signed the declaration, said a Math release.

Amritanandamayi and other religious leaders had gathered in Rome on Monday, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, to sign a common declaration, showing their commitment towards the eradication of modern slavery by 2020.

“We are honoured and thankful that Pope Francis has gathered us here today under the auspices of the Global Freedom Network. I am optimistic that all global faiths are uniting together to inspire both spiritual and practical actions towards society ending the horror of slavery and human trafficking,” the release quoted Amritanandamayi as saying.

The initiative to bring together world religious leaders on a common platform was made by the Global Freedom Network (GFN), which is a faith-based global network with a vision and purpose to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking.

Source: The Indian Express