Church Voices on Debt Cancellation

(Debt relief) is a precondition for the poorest countries to make progress in their fight against poverty. This is something which is now widely recognized, and credit is due to all those who have contributed to this change in direction. We have to ask, however, why progress in resolving the debt problem is still so slow. Why so many hesitations? Why the difficulty in providing the funds needed even for the already agreed initiatives? It is the poor who pay the cost of indecision and delay.

Pope John Paul II, September 1999

As for the poorer countries, they have yet to benefit substantially from the reduction or cancellation of their foreign debts, despite repeated demands, including guarantees the money saved be used for purposes such as education and health.... It is with a view to greater justice among peoples that we, as Catholic Bishops of Canada, have spoken in favour of ... (cancelling) the international debts of the countries of the South. We believe that efforts toward continental economic integration would enjoy popular support if the agreements included serious guarantees for economic equity, environmental protection and greater participation by women in the conduct of the economy and society in general.

Summit of the Americas: That None Be Excluded,

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, April 2001

There is much more to do to promote debt relief.... Above all, we must make sure that, however important they might be, the numbers in which the debate over international debt is discussed - the scale of debt, the amount of repayments, the line items in national budgets, and interest rates - do not hide the human dimensions: children without health care and education, communities without roads and water, women without equality, people without hope.... Debt must become a call to action, an opportunity to stand up for the least of these, a chance to make a difference. As we approach the Great Jubilee, our faith and our Church call us to stand with the poor in their just call and urgent hope for debt relief.

A Jubilee Call for Debt Forgiveness

United States Catholic Conference, April 1999)

We call on the leaders of the world's largest economics meeting at the G8 Summit in Genoa in July 2001 to reduce further the debt of poor countries including those currently excluded - such as Vietnam, Nigeria, and Bangladesh - and to address the problems of highly indebted middle income countries. Deeper cancellation is required . This should result in a 100% cancellation of unpayable debts, including those owed to the international financial institutions.

From Debt Relief to Poverty Reduction

a Consultation of bishops from 20 of the most impoverished nations organized by the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace, December 2000)

The Biblical concept of Jubilee, which has given moral momentum to the campaign for debt cancellation, involves a release both from debt and from slavery. It is time for economically powerful nations to abandon the assumption that they know what is best for those they have impoverished. It is time for a wealthy global elite to cease the promotion of systems of finance and trade that keep poor people in bondage.... While we applaud the G7 nations for recognising the need to address the debt question as a matter of urgency, a more radical departure from the failed strategies of the past will be required if we are to realise the profound vision of justice embodied in the Jubilee ideal.

South African Council of Churches

June 25, 1999