2009-10-23 14:47:56

Holy See says efforts to tide over economic crisis should not sacrifice aid to poor countries


(October 23, 2009) The current global economic crisis and recession has led to a sharp worsening of poverty in a world already haunted by intolerable misery, and efforts to tide over this crisis must not sacrifice aid to the least developed countries. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See at the United Nations, made the point on Thursday at a U.N. General Assembly session on eradication of poverty and other development issues. He pointed out that the number of poor who are bearing the brunt of the crisis has skyrocketed. “Even if an economic recovery is imminent, for those who remain jobless the crisis is not over and its social and human costs persist,” Archbishop Migliore said. He called for a qualitative change in the management of international affairs, pointing out that the amount necessary to fulfil official development assistance commitments is drastically smaller than that allocated to restore the global financial sector. To delay the necessary developmental assistance reaffirms the moral roots of the crisis - the lack of solidarity and responsibility for long-term effects of economic measures. Only a constant and sustained investment in all women and men will ensure the minimum economic and political stability needed for the universal common good, Archbishop Migliore added.







All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.