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New York (Agenzia Fides) - Transparency of the financial system, integration of poor countries in the system of global trade, investments in food security and social expenses, short term economic interventions to alleviate the sufferings of one billion human beings who suffer from hunger as poverty increases all over the world. More: build a sustainable economy which takes into account the fragility of developing countries and above all promote a new scale of values on the basis of which the core of financial activity will no longer be unbridled quest for profit but the need to recognise the rights of all men and women on the basis of the principle of shared responsibilities.
These were some major points put forward by the Holy See in the face of the grave financial crisis which is affecting the whole world, causing spreading poverty and widening the gap between rich and poor countries. This critical vision of the situation and proposals to end the actual stall in global economy was presented by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations Organisation in New York. The Archbishop addressed the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development on 26 June 2009.
“ We must not forget that it is poor people both in developed and in developing countries who suffer most and who are least able to defend themselves against the impact of this crisis. Loss of jobs in the former and lack of access to employment, food, basic healthcare and education facilities in the latter are a daily daunting reality” the Archbishop said, and he continued offering some worrying information: “ At the conclusion of the Development Committee meetings in late April, the World Bank estimated that an additional 55-90 million people will now be trapped in extreme poverty in 2009, especially women and children; meanwhile, the number of chronically hungry people is expected to climb to over 1 billion individuals this year. Moreover, prospects for overcoming extreme poverty by 2015 by way of the eight globally agreed Millennium Development Goals have also receded. ”.
In view of this grace crisis Archbishop Migliore pointed out, “ Church institutions all over the world have seized the momentum to foment new structures of solidarity and to call for and encourage the redirection of the national and global financial and economic systems towards the principles of justice, solidarity and subsidiarity”. The Archbishop explained “ Given the vulnerability of so many of the world’s poor, we endorse the proposed approach to protect them with short-term stabilisation measures while using longer term measures to help ensure sustainable financial flows and reduce the likelihood of this crisis reoccurring.”.
In general the Holy See calls on the international community to concentrate on a series of immediate and urgent measures to alleviate the affects of the crisis. “ In terms of specific action, - the Archbishop told the United Nations - we welcome the commitments made at the G20 London Summit last April to make available more than $1 trillion in additional assistance. Unfortunately, however, only a small part of this assistance was targeted for the poorest developing countries. Hence, it is essential that adequate financial assistance still be directed to these countries, whose financing needs must be closely monitored. It is also important that such assistance be extended with minimal conditionality from the IFIs (International Financial Institutions)”.
Moreover the Holy See “ support measures aimed at strengthening food security, the protection of social expenditures, and, more generally, a people centered focus of public expenditure. In this regard, we welcome particularly the proposals for the necessary additional resources to be made to the World Bank’s Vulnerability Financing Framework.”. Then Mgr Migliore reaffirmed “ the principle of sustainable financial development and ensuring a sustainable path of development for all developing countries”.
“ In terms of measures aimed at preventing a reoccurrence of this crisis in the future, - the Holy Se Permanent Observer explained - we support practical and enforceable regulations to ensure global transparency and oversight at all levels of the financial system. Underlying the current economic crisis is an ideology which places individuals and individual desires at the centre of all economic decisions. The practice of economics has reflected this ideological focus and has sought to remove values and morality from economic discussions rather than seeking to integrate these concerns into creating a more effective and just financial system. ”. (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 1/7/2009; righe 57, parole 805)
