Pope to G8: Money, politics and economics must serve, not rule

Pope Francis. Photo: AFP

Source: Vatican Radio

 As world leaders opened their G8 summit in Northern Ireland yesterday, British Prime Minister David Cameron in a letter sent to Pope Francis pledged to restore “strong and sustainable growth to the world economy” through progress on what’s being called the ‘3 Ts’ – taxation, trade and transparency. 

The UK assumed the one-year Presidency of G8 in January 2013. The G8 Summit, is taking place at Lough Erne on 17 and 18 June 2013, entitled A G8 meeting that goes back to first principles.

In his reply to the Prime Minister, made public at the weekend, Pope Francis offered “abundant blessings” for summit participants and stressed the importance of keeping human beings“ at the center of all political and economic activity”.

In an earlier letter to the Pope, Cameron stressed among others, thus: 

“Many of the world's poorest countries are shackled by a lack of transparency, corrupt practices and weak capacity. Too often, a veil of secrecy  allows corrupt corporations and officials in countries to flout the law and prevent development.”

“Too often, mineral wealth in developing countries becomes a curse rather than a blessing, as a lack of transparency fosters crime and corruption” Such wealth, the G8 president stated, often “brings conflict, greed, and environmental damage". 

Freedom from violence, good governance and justice are not only fundamental to achieving poverty eradication, but goods in themselves that all citizens of the world have equal right to enjoy, said Cameron.

Pope Francis stressed the importance of ensuring transparency and responsibility on the part of governments, measures that indicate the “deep ethical roots of these problems”. The Pope said that his predecessor Benedict XVI has likewise made clear that “the present global crisis shows that ethics is not something external to the economy.”

“Concern for the fundamental material and spiritual welfare of every human person is the starting point for every political and economic solution”,  the Pope said.