Church and G8 Meeting

Quotes from Pope’s message regarding G8; discussion questions and prayer.Pope Benedict XVI sent a message on July 2 through Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, to the participants of the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh.

Writing to Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, the Pope’s message stated, “Greetings to all who are gathered for this event, united by their concern for the welfare of millions of our brothers and sisters afflicted by extreme poverty. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, ‘God intended the earth and all it contains for the use of everyone and of all peoples; so that the good things of creation should be available equally to all’ (“Gaudium et Spes,” 69).”

The Pope’s message continued, “For this reason, people from the world’s richest countries should be prepared to accept the burden of debt reduction for heavily indebted poor countries, and should urge their leaders to fulfill the pledges made to reduce world poverty, especially in Africa, by the year 2015.”

“His Holiness prays for the participants in the rally and for the world leaders soon to gather at Gleneagles, that they may all play their part in ensuring a more just distribution of the world’s goods,” the message continued, and ended with a blessing: “In the ardent hope that the scourge of global poverty may one day be consigned to history, he cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing.”

The message was intended for the 225,000 people, dressed in white, who had encircled Edinburgh Castle with a giant human bracelet in white, the symbol of the anti-poverty campaign. Cardinal O’Brien, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster, both participated in the event. Cardinal O’Brien gave an address, “Listen to the Voice of Your People!” to the gathering.

During one part of his speech, Cardinal O’Brien said, “We are here today because we are scandalized by the needless suffering that poverty causes. To be passive or indifferent in the knowledge that one child dies needlessly every three seconds is to be an accomplice in barbarity! We say to the leaders of the world’s richest nations: We have no intention of being accomplices in barbarity. There is a great realization today among the peoples of the world that we have a moral obligation to share of our goods wealth with those who have none.”

He continued, “Today, we are here for no other reason than because we want to stand peacefully and resolutely alongside our poorer sisters and brothers and to raise our voices on behalf of the voiceless. A society’s worth, said Mahatma Gandhi, is to be measured by the value it places on its weakest members. What we do today is a great thing!”

The next day, on July 3, Pope Benedict XVI voiced his support for “Make Poverty History” again, appealing to the G-8 (the Group of Eight most powerful world leaders) who will meet this week in Gleneagles, Scottland, to work toward debt reduction and development in Africa.

He said, “I wish for the total success of this important meeting, hoping that it will lead to sharing with solidarity the expenses of debt reduction, to implementing concrete measures to eradicate poverty and to promoting the genuine development of Africa.”

Discussion Questions

Why do Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal O’Brien believe that it is the responsibility of people of faith and of the affluent to stand up for the poor and vulnerable?

In his speech, Cardinal O’Brien highlighted three things that those gathered wanted to say their leaders: (1) “Listen to the voice of your people!”

(2) “Be generous and just!” and

(3) “Be aware of what your people are doing!” If you could speak directly to your leaders, what else would you say?

Are you using all means available to you to make your voice heard in standing up for the voiceless? What more could you do?

Lord of Life,
As Cardinal O’Brien said in his address, we are:

Aware of the poverty suffered by others;
Aware of the immorality of allowing that suffering to take place;
Aware of our rights as citizens to be heard;
Aware of the men, women and children dying as we speak;
Aware that our solidarity gives us strength;
Aware that our leaders may turn a deaf ear but Almighty God hears our cry;
And aware that only together can we: Make Poverty History.

Give us the strength and determination to work towards solutions and policy changes that can free our sisters and brothers in Africa from the chains of poverty. Inspire us to challenge our leaders to make debt relief and fighting poverty a priority, and make our voices loud and clear. Amen.