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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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04/07/2009 19:26
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Pope shares reflections
on economic crisis in letter
to Prime Minister Berlusconi
on the eve of the G8 summit

Translated from

July 4, 2009

This is the text of the letter sent by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Hon. Silvio Berlusconi, President of Italy's Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), on the occasion of the meeting of heads of government of the G* nations in L'Aquila from July 8-10. Italy holds the G8 presidency this semester.






Honorable Mr. President,

In view of the coming meeting of the heads of state and government of the most industrialized nations (G8), which will take place in L'Aquila on July 8-10, under the presidency of Italy, it is my pleasure to send my heartfelt greeting to you and all the participants.

I gladly take this opportunity to contribute some reflections on the agenda of the meeting, as I have done in the past.

I have been informed by my co-workers about the commitment with which you, and the government you have the honor to lead, are preparing for this important meeting, and I know how much attention has been devoted to reflecting on the summit agenda by the Holy See, the Catholic Church in Italy,and the Catholic world in general, not to mention the representatives of other religions.

The participation of the leaders not only of the G8 but of many other nations will help insure that the decisions to be adopted - in finding solutions that can be shared to the principal problems which affect the economy, peace, and international security, may more faithfully reflect the views and expectations of the peoples in all the continents.

This broadened participation in the discussions of this summit are more than ever timely, considering the multiple problems of today's highly interconnected and interdependent world.

I refer, in particular, to the challenges of the current economic and financial crisis, as well as the concerning data about climate change - all of which can only urge wise discernment and new projections "to 'convert' the model of global development" (cfr Angelus, Nov 12, 2006), in order to make it capable of effectively promoting integral human development, inspired by the values of human solidarity and love in truth.

Some of these themes will be confronted in my third encyclical, Caritas in veritate, which will be presented to the public in the next few days.

In preparation for the Great Jubilee of 2000, at the urging of John Paul II, the Holy See had occasion to pay great attention to the work of the G8. My venerated predecessor was indeed convinced that the liberation of the poorest nations from the burden of foreign debt, and more generally, the eradication of the causes of extreme poverty in the world, depend on a full assumption of fraternal responsibility towards all mankind by the governments and States that are more economically advanced. This responsibility has not diminished, and in fact, has become even more pressing today.

In the recent past, thanks in part to the great impetus that the Great Jubilee of 2000 gave to the search for solutions to the debt problems and economic vulnerability of Africa and other poor nations, and in part to noteworthy changes in the world's economic adn political scenario, a majority of the less developed countries enjoyed a period of extraordinary growth which allowed most of them to expect compliance with the objective set by the international community at the threshold of the third millennium, namely, to defeat extreme poverty by 2015.

Unfortunately, the financial and economic crisis which has invested the entire planet since 2008 has changed the panorama, so that there is real risk not only of extinguishing all hope of emerging from extreme poverty, but that even those populations who have enjoyed a minimum of material wellbeing up till now will also fall into poverty.

Moreover, the present world economic crisis threatens cancellation or drastic reduction of plans for international aid, especially that intended for Africa and the other nations that are economically less developed.

Therefore, with the same force that John Paul II asked for condoning of the foreign debt for the poorest countries, I, too, wish to appeal to the member nations of the G8, to the other states who will be represented, and to the governments of the entire world, to maintain and potentiate development aid, especially the component aimed at 'giving value' to 'human resources', not only despite the crisis, but indeed because this is one of the principal ways of solving the crisis.

It is not, in fact, by investing in man - in all the men and women on earth - that we can succeed in effectively keeping away the worrisome prospect of a world recession?

Is this not, in fact, the road towards obtaining, as much as it is possible, a functioning of the world economy to the benefit of all the inhabitants of every nation, rich and poor, great and small?

The subject of access to education is intimately linked to the effectiveness of international cooperation. If it is true that we must 'invest' in man, the goal of basic education for everyone, without exclusions, by 2015, should not only be maintained but generously reinforced.

Education is the indispensable condition for democracy to function, for the fight against corruption, for the exercise of political, economic and social rights, and for the effective recovery by all states, rich and poor.


Applying correctly the principle of subsidiarity, support for development cannot ignore the network of educational activities that the Catholic Church and other religious confessions carry out in the poorest and most abandoned parts of the globe.

UI also urge the distinguished participants of the G8 summit to remember that the measure of technical efficiency for any provisions they may adopt to emerge from the present crisis will coincide with their measure of ethical values.

One must therefore consider concrete human and familial exigencies. I refer, for example, to the effective creation of jobs for everyone that will allow workers to provide appropriately for the needs of their family and to carry out their primary responsibility to educate their children and be protagonists in the community that they belong.

"A society in which this right is systematically denied," John Paul II wrote, "in which political and economic measures do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, can obtain neither ethical legitimacy nor social peace" (Centesimus annus, 43; cfr. Id., Laborem excercens, 18).

To that end, indeed, there is urgency for an equitable system of international commerce in fulfillment of - and if possible, even going beyond - the decisions on development made in Doha in 2001.

I hope that every creative energy may be employed to absolve the commitments made at the UN Millennium summit on the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015
.

There is an obligation to reform the international financial architecture to assure the effective coordination of national policies, avoiding credit speculation and guaranteeing wide international availability of public and private credit in the service of production and labor, especially in the most disadvantaged nations and regions.

The ethical legitimization of the G8's political commitments will require naturally that they confront the thinking and the needs of the entire international community.

To this end, it seems important to reinforce multilateralism, not only for economic questions, but for the entire spectrum of issues concerning peace, world security, disarmament, health, and safeguarding the environment and natural resources for present and future generations.

The extension of the G8 to other regions does constitute significant progress. However, during the negotiations and in the concrete operational decisions, all circumstances must be considered, not just those of the most important nations or who have the most obvious economic success. Only this way can such decisions be truly applicable and sustainable over time.

Therefore, may they listen to the voice of Africa and less economically developed nations! May they look for efficient ways to link decisions taken by various groups of nations, including the G8, to the Assembly of the United Nations, where every nation, whatever its political and economic weight, can legitimately express itself in a situation of equality with all the rest.

I wish to add, finally, how significant it is that the Italian government has chosen to host this meeting in the city of L'Aquila, a choice approved and shared by the other member states as well as those invited.

We have all been witness to the generous solidarity of the Italian people and other nations, of national and international organizations, towards the people of the Abruzzo who were struck by the earthquake.

This fraternal mobilization could constitute an invitation to the members of the G8 and for the governments and peoples of the world to be united in facing the current challenges which call on mankind to make decisive choices that can no longer be put off about the fate of mankind itself, intimately linked to the fate of creation.

Honorable Mr. President, as I invoke the assistance of God on all those who will be present at the meeting in L'Aquila and on multilateral initiatives aimed at resolving the economic and financial crisis and to guarantee a future of peace and prosperity for all men and women without exception, I take this occasion to renew my expressions of esteem, and assuring you of my prayers, I extend to you a deferential and heartfelt greeting.


From the Vatican
July 1, 2009






[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/07/2009 21:45]
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