WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Washington urged President George Bush to ensure that trade negotiations this month in Hong Kong protect the interests of the world’s poor.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Bush met in a private meeting Thursday.
In statements to the press afterward, Cardinal McCarrick said: “The fight against poverty around the world is vital to establishing solidarity among peoples and nations.
“Global trade rules, when framed from the perspective of the ‘least among us,’ can lead to more equitable prosperity and stability in a world where growing inequality and instability are very often dangerous realities.”
Cardinal McCarrick’s meeting with the president comes days before the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, scheduled for Dec. 13-18 in Hong Kong.
Specifically, Cardinal McCarrick urged the president to work to “substantially reduce, if not eliminate, trade-distorting federal subsidies while protecting small and medium-sized farms in the United States.”
The full text of Cardinal McCarrick’s remarks to the White House media can be found on the U.S. bishops Web site.
