Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) - "We have followed with attention and pastoral concern the situation which has occured due to foreign debt and its possible consequences for our country and the lives of our people, especially the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, after the recent verdict of the Supreme Court of the United States. This fact requires a mature attitude of unity and responsibility on behalf of the entire leadership in order to respond to the situation generated". This is what was expressed by the Executive Committee of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, chaired by His Exc. Mgr. Jorge Eduardo Lozano, Bishop of Gualeguaychú, in a statement which has just been published and sent to Fides Agency.
According to the data collected by Fides Agency, the foreign debt of the South American country ended up in the hands of so-called "speculator funds", and since then Argentina has been engaged in a legal battle with creditors who refused to participate in the re-enactment of the debt. On 16 June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Argentina and has ordered the country to pay the debt to "speculators" by June 30.
In their statement, the Bishops cite Pope Francis: "Economy centered on financial speculation only weakens relationships, delays the development of peoples and undermines the fairness of international order". They also point out that "the economic issue is a central theme in the life of peoples, which, however, must always be at the service of the common good and the integral development of the person and in the path of righteousness". Finally, they have trust in the availability and professional competence of those who lead the nation, of political forces, economists, businessmen, so that they work together in order to find a solution to the problem. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 25/06/2014)
