Social ministry leaders told that poverty not main cause of wars

Published: 2006-02-16

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The lack of efficient governmental institutions trumps poverty as a cause of civil wars in many underdeveloped countries, said several speakers Feb. 13 at a national meeting of Catholic social ministry officials. "If you don't have institutions that work, poverty is fuel for the fire," said Maryann Cusimano Love, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington and a consultant to the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy. Ian Bannon, a World Bank manager specializing in conflict prevention and reconstruction, said foreign aid programs to underdeveloped countries that are moving toward democracy should concentrate on building the institutions needed for a stable, functioning society. Foreign aid programs need to focus on such things as building education departments in countries where children have not seen a teacher in years, he said.

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