Church Leaders Call on G20 for Debt Relief – A Call for Hope!

Church Leaders Call on G20 for Debt Relief – A Call for Hope!

More than 120 church leaders from around the world have urged the G20 countries to take decisive action against the global debt crisis. An open letter published during the current meeting of finance ministers from the 20 most important industrialized and emerging countries in Cape Town points out the alarming situation in which the debt crisis is significantly hindering the fight against poverty and efforts to combat climate change. The appeal, which was made, among others, by the World Caritas Association Caritas Internationalis was initiated, calls for a “fair and functioning global debt system”. It highlights that in many countries debt payments exceed spending on essential areas such as health and education.

What is particularly worrying is the fact that the debt restructuring procedures within the G20 framework take far too long and private creditors often delay the negotiations. This leaves millions of people in affected countries suffering from hunger, lack of access to basic services and the devastating consequences of climate change. Pope Francis encourages believers to be “pilgrims of hope” and to take active action against the debt crisis. The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, also called for debt relief for countries that spend more on repayments than on basic things like health and education, calling the move a matter of "justice and generosity."

Demands from Germany and solutions for the future

In Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, the pope's ambassador, reiterated calls for debt relief for developing countries to address the challenges of climate change. According to Eterovic, Pope Francis' proposal could help these countries cushion the dire consequences. The nuncio also emphasized the importance of a global fund to combat hunger and to establish financial resources from armaments budgets in order to take sustainable action against the global hunger crisis. With over 733 million hungry people worldwide, the urgency of these concerns continues. Calls for a global ban on the death penalty and recognition of ecological debt support the Catholic Church's broader vision for a more just world, the reports explain.