'New political culture' needed to spur African growth, says Vatican

Published: 2006-10-17

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- For development to take place in Africa, "a new political culture" is needed which stresses international cooperation, a Vatican diplomat told the U.N. General Assembly. "A decisive condition for bringing peace to the world is an acknowledgment of the interdependence between wealthy and poor countries, so that development will be understood as a task common to us all," said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's observer at U.N. headquarters in New York. The archbishop spoke Oct. 12 in support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, a program to stimulate greater efforts to eradicate poverty on the continent. The program stresses greater international aid for Africa along with greater cooperation between African governments and the private sector to foment economic growth. Without greater international cooperation, development "may undergo a process of regression even in zones marked by progress until now," said the archbishop.

Copyright (c) 2006 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 The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in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 .