Vatican seminar looks at ways to meet U.N. anti-poverty goals by 2015

Published: 2004-07-12

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In support of the U.N.-defined millennium development goals, Pope John Paul II encouraged efforts to drastically reduce poverty, debt and poor health conditions in Third World nations by 2015. The pope's backing for the U.N. objectives came at a time when many were questioning whether achieving the millennium goals 11 years from now was realistic. The pope's remarks, in a letter to Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, were made public during a July 9 Vatican seminar, "Poverty and Globalization: Financing for Development, Including the Millennium Development Goals." The Vatican's minisummit brought together government leaders, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, U.N. development directors and financial strategists who discussed ways of financing the development goals. The millennium development goals, endorsed by world leaders at the U.N. Millennium Summit in September 2000, set several concrete objectives to be achieved by 2015; they included reducing by half the number of poor around the world and improving health and education in the developing world.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .