Bishops of G8 nations urge leaders: remember the poor

June 05, 2013

The presidents of bishops’ conferences located in the G8 nations are urging G8 leaders “to take steps to improve nutrition, reduce hunger and poverty, and strengthen just tax, trade and transparency policies for the common good of all.”

“Your focus on agriculture and nutrition ahead of the [June 17-18] G8 Meeting is timely,” the bishops said in their joint letter to the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. “In a world that has made great strides in improving food production and distribution, far too many of God’s children still go to bed hungry or suffer from a lack of nutrition, a tragedy that has lifelong consequences for health and educational achievement. In particular, there is a need to strengthen assistance to African countries in order to improve local agriculture.”

“Trade and trade rules must serve the universal common good of the whole human family and the special needs of the most vulnerable nations,” the bishops continued. “It is counterproductive to provide agricultural development assistance on the one hand and then to use unfair agricultural trade policies that harm the agricultural economics of poorer nations on the other.”

“By asking first how a given policy will affect the poor and the vulnerable, you can help assure that the common good of all is served,” the bishops added. “As a human family we are only as healthy as our weakest members.”

 

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Further information:

• President of USCCB Joins Other Bishops' Conferences in Letter to Leaders of G8 Nations; Urges Them to Protect the Poor, Address Fair Trade, Transparency (USCCB)
• Full text of letter (USCCB)