SEMINAR ON THE REDUCTION OF DEBT AND POVERTY

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has organized a seminar to be held from December 3 to 6 on the theme: "From debt relief to poverty reduction." The aim of the gathering is to examine the results of the various efforts inspired by the Pope's appeals to reduce considerably the international debt.

According to a communique released by the council "the response to this appeal ... was concretized in the promotion of many popular initiatives as well as by significant commitments of governments and international institutions." The seminar will focus on "the ways in which debt relief initiatives may lead to concrete measures in the fight against poverty."

The meeting, which will be inaugurated by Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will be attended by bishops and experts from more than 20 heavily-indebted countries and by representatives of Catholic organizations involved in the field of development.

CON-IP;SEMINAR DEBT; POVERTY;...;VAN THUAN;VIS;20001201;Word: 180;