The Christian Churches of the USA and England have also asked the leaders of the G8 for “decisive action and a firm commitment” to eradicate poverty in the world. The appeal was made at an international Forum held at Lambeth Palace in London, and hosted by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Delegations of the Christian Churches of the USA and of England participated in the Forum, promoted by the ecumenical organization “Churches Together in Britain e Ireland”. The Catholic Church was represented at the meeting by Msgr. Henry Docherty, general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “There is no place for apathy in a world which sees 30,000 children die each day because of poverty-related conditions”, says the final communiqué of the Forum”. “We believe God judges nations by what they do to the poorest”. The communiqué therefore makes a pressing appeal to the President of the USA, George Bush, British premier Tony Blair and the other leaders of the G8 “to provide courageous leadership” by providing the necessary “resources and by making the structural changes necessary to eradicate poverty”. “For the first time in history says the appeal – humanity possesses the information, knowledge, technology and resources to bring the worst of global poverty virtually to an end. What is missing is sufficient political and moral will”. The Christian leaders have thus drawn up a kind of Agenda for the leaders of the G8 emphasizing the concrete steps that need to be taken: multilateral cancellation of the debt of all the world’s poorest countries, “dramatic improvement in the quantity and quality of aid”, reform of the rules of international trade, including provisions to “strengthen special and differential treatment for poor countries” to protect vulnerable producers and develop new industries.
