Bishops urge European leaders to augment efforts to combat poverty

Published: 2007-05-01

LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic bishops from four continents are appealing to leaders of the world's richest countries to honor their commitments to combat extreme poverty. The eight church leaders met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair April 30 and were scheduled to meet with government leaders in Germany and Italy before meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, England, told Blair that Great Britain could "set an example" to the Group of Eight industrialized nations meeting in Germany June 6-8 by honoring the pledges to more than double development aid to Africa by 2010. G-8 nations made those pledges in Gleneagles, Scotland, two years ago. Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh told the prime minister about the massive gap between "the proportions of expenditure on weaponry compared to the proportion on the poor." After the meeting, Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, said it was significant that Blair had met and listened to the Catholic Church leaders.

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