POVERTY CAN BE FOUGHT, OVERCOME WITH "POLITICAL WILL"

VATICAN CITY, JUL 13, 1999 (VIS) - Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, head of the Holy See observer delegation to the 1999 meeting of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, held recently in Geneva, Switzerland, addressed the assembly on July 7 on how the weight of external debt condemns poor countries to permanent underdevelopment.

In his speech in French, made public today, the archbishop said that the report prepared for this high level debate "tells us that - with the necessary political will - the international community has efficacious means to fight extreme poverty through important social and production investments on the part of all components of society."

Archbishop Bertello emphasized that the Holy See has consistently raised the problem of poor countries' external debt. Remarking that debt "condemns poor countries to permanent under-development," he outlined some of its consequences: "reducing expenses in vital sectors, ... unemployment, ... and lack of interest by foreign investors and flight of capital."

He affirmed that "initiatives by international financial institutions ... show that the path is feasible and that debt reduction for the poorest countries can become an investment for their development." The Holy See recognizes the efforts being made to reduce external debts, and hopes they will continue, he added.

The head of delegation then pointed to initiatives proposed by the Catholic Church regarding debt reduction, in particular one from Italian bishops. They propose, he said, "gathering a sufficient sum to finance an operation of debt conversion for one or more of the poorest countries. A part of the debt of these countries would be bought back - which would permit for its annulment vis-a-vis creditors - while the debtor government would place the same sum of money in local currency in a fund aimed at financing development projects studied with the Church and the local populations."

To achieve debt reduction for the poorest countries, the archbishop concluded, the world needs "an ethic of solidarity."

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