U.S. bishop calls on world leaders to cancel debt of poorest nations

Published: 2005-02-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy said the cancellation of debt for certain poor countries should be a priority at the Feb. 4-5 meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers in London. In a Jan. 27 letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow, Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., said the February meeting presents an opportunity for the seven leading industrial nations to act on "a matter of urgency." The G-7 is made up of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy and Canada. "Current levels of debt repayment coupled with a high degree of vulnerability to external shocks continue to leave poor countries in danger of serious setbacks along the path to poverty reduction and sustainable human development," the bishop said in his letter.

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