Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has written a letter to the Italian Prime Minster Hon. Berlusconi on the occasion of the G8 meeting to be held in Aquila, from 8 to 10 July 2009, under Italian presidency. In the Letter, dated 1 July, the Pontiff sends cordial greetings to the participants and explains that the purpose of the letter is to “offer a contribution to reflection on the theme of the meeting ”.
“The participation of Heads of State and Government, not only of the G8 but of many other nations– the Pope writes -, will ensure that decisions taken to find agreed solutions to the principal problems affecting international economy, peace and security, reflect as faithfully as possible the visions and the expectations of the peoples of every continent ”. This “extended participation” is more than ever opportune “taking into account the many difficulties of the highly inter-connected and inter-dependent world of today ”. Benedict XVI cites in particular the challenges of the present economic-financial crisis and the phenomenon of climate change.
The Holy Father mentions Pope John Paul's commitment on the occasion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, to reach adequate solutions for difficulties connected with the debts and economic vulnerability of Africa and other poor countries. He says that a period of “extraordinary growth ” enjoyed by most less developed countries, which has enabled many of them to hope for the eradication of extreme poverty by 2015, is being tested by the financial and economic crisis which has been affecting the whole Planet since the beginning of 2008, “so that there is a real danger not only that hopes of eradicating extreme poverty may be extinguished but that peoples which so far enjoyed a minimum of material wellbeing may fall into poverty”.
“Moreover – the Pope continues -, the present world economic crisis entails the threat of the cancellation or drastic reduction of plans for international aid, especially in favour of Africa and other less economically developed countries ”. Therefore Benedict XVI appeals to “G8 member countries, the other states represented and the governments of the whole world, to ensure that aid for development, especially aid to ‘valorise’ the ‘human resource, may be maintained and increased, not only because of the crisis, but precisely because this is one of the principal paths to resolve it ”. In fact only by investing in man– in all the men and women of the Earth – “will it be possible to effectively avoid the concerning prospect of a world recession ”. This will entail also guaranteeing basic instruction for all, since “education is the indispensable condition for the functioning of democracy, for overcoming corruption, for exercising political, economic and social rights, and for the effective recovery of all countries, poor and rich. Moreover, correct application of the principal of subsidiarity, support for development, cannot fail to take into account the work of education undertaken by the Catholic Church and other religious confessions in the poorest and most abandoned regions of the Globe ”.
Benedict XVI also stresses the necessity to consider concrete human and family needs: “I refer for example to effective creation of jobs for everyone, to enable workers, men and women, to provide in a worthy manner for the needs of the family, and fulfil their primary responsibility to educate the children and to be active members in the community to which they belong”. The Holy Father expresses the hope for renewed commitment towards eradicating extreme poverty by 2015: “to reform international financial structures in order to ensure effective co-ordination of national policies, avoiding... speculation and guaranteeing the broad international availability of public and private credit at the service of production and of work, especially in the most disadvantaged countries and regions.”.
In the last part of his Letter the Pontiff speaks of the necessity to "reinforcing multilateralism, not only in economic questions but over the entire spectrum of topics concerning peace, world security, disarmament, health, and protection of the environment and of natural resources for present and future generations… When negotiating and when making concrete and operative decisions care consideration must be given to every instance, not only those of the most important countries, or those which enjoy a greater economic success. This alone can render those decisions really both applicable and sustainable. Therefore may the voice of Africa and less economically developed countries be heard! May effective means be found to connect the decisions of the different groups of countries including the G8, with the Assembly of the United Nations, where every nation, whatever its political and economic importance, may legitimately express an opinion in a situation of equality with the others.”
After expressing his appreciation for the choice of the city of L’Aquila, the Holy Father concludes imploring “God assistance for all present at the next G8 at L’Aquila and for multilateral initiatives to resolve the economic-financial crisis and to guarantee a future of peace and prosperity for all men and women without exception”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 6/7/2009, righe 61, parole 823)
