DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON, A KEY VALUE FOR DEVELOPMENT

VATICAN CITY, MAR 26, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was the speech given on March 21 by Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, during the International Conference on Financing for Development that was held March 18-22 in Monterrey, Mexico.

The archbishop noted that this conference aimed at "finding realistic and workable ways to address the elimination of poverty and the advancement of the human family." He stressed throughout his talk that "development is first and foremost a question of people. Human beings are at the center of our concerns for sustainable development."

"Too many families in today's world," he stated, "are forced to be concerned with survival and do not have the luxury of participating as actors in their development; too many people are forced to migrate, too many people continue to be burdened by absolute poverty and live in countries where debt burdens make it impossible to gain access to basic social services. In this perspective, financing for development must touch all aspects of life, the individual, the family, the community and the world."

Archbishop Martino pointed out that "the Holy See has constantly shown its concern for the social and economic development of the world's people and the means to achieve that development. ... The Holy See strongly believes that any effort in favor of development must analyze the moral ramifications of economic activity and its financing in light of a comprehensive vision of the human person. ... Human dignity must be the central value for the financing of development."

"Too many people," he concluded, "live lives without hope, with little opportunity toward realizing a better future for themselves, their children and future generations. ... The Family of Nations cannot allow one more day to pass wherein a real attempt to meet goals and make measurable progress toward the eradication of poverty are not pursued with all of the energy and resolve that it can muster."

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