Religious leaders say interfaith effort to end global poverty growing

Published: 2008-02-26

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Eliminating much of the world's worst poverty within a decade would become a principle of U.S. foreign policy for the first time under a Catholic-led legislative push gathering force with a growing interfaith alliance. Nearly 40 representatives from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths as well as the Shinto and Wiccan religions, met at the University of San Francisco Feb. 20 in an effort to broaden the ranks of members of faith communities involved in the campaign. Leaders said they are trying to build the campaign to full strength by May to push the U.S. Senate to pass the Global Poverty Act of 2007 this summer. The U.S. House passed the bill Sept. 25. The meeting was organized by the Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought at the Jesuit-run University San Francisco. It was hosted by Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco; Jesuit Father Stephen Privett, the university's president; and Episcopal Bishop Marc Andrus of California. The bill, if signed into law, would require the president to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to promote the elimination of global poverty as a foreign policy goal.

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