This Sunday's gospel describes a perilous journey by boat that threatens the lives of the disciples until Jesus intervenes. The U.S. State Department, which Tuesday released its Annual Trafficking in Persons Report, strongly urged affected nations to intervene in an underground industry that threatens the freedom and well-being of impoverished children and adults forcibly shipped to countries where they are sold into virtual slavery.

The report cites International Labor Organization statistics that estimate that at least 12.3 million adults and children are victims of forced labor, bonded labor, and sex slavery each year.

"This is modern slavery. A crime that spans the globe, providing ruthless employers with [an] endless supply of people to abuse for financial gain," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as she announced the report. "With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery, so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed."

The report said the global economic crisis is boosting the demand for human trafficking because of a growing demand for cheap goods and services. "A striking global demand for labor and a growing supply of workers willing to take ever-greater risks for economic opportunities seem a recipe for increased forced labor cases of migrant workers and women in prostitution," it said.

This year the Justice Department also put out a report on U.S. efforts to combat trafficking at home. In 2008 the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened 132 trafficking investigations, made 139 arrests, and obtained 94 convictions.

Source: An article by Elise Labott for CNN