Bishops urge G-8 leaders to reduce poverty, focus on Darfur

Published: 2007-06-01

LONDON (CNS) -- The presidents of the bishops' conferences of some of the world's wealthiest nations urged their heads of state to take "bold action" to reduce global poverty. The presidents of the bishops' conference of the United States, England and Wales, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Russia made their request in the run-up to the G-8 summit in Germany June 6-8. The May 31 letter, which was sent to the heads of the G-8 nations, with the exception of Italy, asked the heads of state to "act out of the moral obligation that we all share for the well-being of every human person, but also because replacing despair with hope in Africa will lead to a more secure world for all nations." The bishops said they prayed that the "meeting will be blessed by a spirit of collaboration that enables the G-8 leaders to advance the global common good by adopting concrete measures on global poverty, health care, climate change and peace and security." The bishops reminded the world leaders that at the 2005 G-8 summit in Scotland, the richest countries promised to spend an additional $50 billion per year on foreign aid by 2010, half of which would go to Africa. However, they noted, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports foreign aid levels remained stagnant in 2006.

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