Pope urges Gordon Brown to back 'ethical' financial system
From Times OnlineMarch 31, 2009
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
The Pope has urged Gordon Brown to push for the establishment of an ethical financial system at the G20 summit this week.
He has also called on the world leaders gathered in London to agree measures that offer security to families and workers.
Pope Benedict XVI says in a letter to the Prime Minister on the eve of the summit: “The only true and solid foundation is faith in the human person. For this reason all the measures proposed to rein in this crisis must seek, ultimately, to offer security to families and stability to workers and, through appropriate regulations and controls, to restore ethics to the financial world.”
He warns against “the spectre of the cancellation or drastic reduction of external assistance programmes, especially for Africa and for less developed countries elsewhere".
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He says: “Positive faith in the human person, and above all faith in the poorest men and women – of Africa and other regions of the world affected by extreme poverty – is what is needed if we are truly to come through the crisis once and for all, without turning our back on any region, and if we are definitively to prevent any recurrence of a situation similar to that in which we find ourselves today.”
Such a strong intervention by the Pope is unusual and is an indication of the depth of international concern about the social and welfare implications of the financial crisis.
The letter is also a reflection of the bond the two men formed when they met on Mr Brown's recent visit to the Holy See.
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See also articles from Zenit: "G-20 Summit Urged to Remember Africa" and "Text of Pope's Letter to British Prime Minister."
posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:07 PM
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