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Cardinal says 2009 offers the chance for a "blueprint for a better world"
Source: Caritas Internationalis
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Speaking to Holy See ambassadors from a dozen European countries at Caritas Internationalis' Vatican headquarters, the Cardinal spoke of the effects of the economic crisis, cuts to foreign aid and climate change on the world's poorest people.
He said rich countries are spending money on bail-outs while cutting or not honouring their commitment to aid, meaning the poor are suffering.
"We can either greet 2009 with paralysis or as an opportunity for change," said the Cardinal.
Cardinal Rodriguez warned the ambassadors that up to 200,000 to 400,000 more children a year could die if the current economic crisis persists. Millions more people are expected to slide into poverty in 2009.
"Our fears are that the poorest people who have benefited least from decades of unequal economic growth will pay the greater price for this folly," he said.
He called on heads of state to show genuine leadership and convince voters that "supporting the poor is not a fair-weather choice but a moral responsibility".
Despite campaigns to boost aid flows to poorer countries, recent figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that aid spending is at the level it was at in 1993.
The Cardinal emphasised the need for both leaders and citizens alike to assume responsibility and accountability for the economic and climate crises.
"Each of us has a responsibility to promote and to protect the common good, and to hold our governments to account for their actions," he said.
As the Church celebrates the Pauline year, Cardinal Rodriguez suggested that the leaders of the world's richest countries might experience their own "road to Damascus" moment.
"There must be a conversion away from the old system of blind greed to one where our eyes are opened to justice and dignity for all," he said.
Read Cardinal Rodriguez's speech
For more information please contact Michelle Hough on +39 06 69879721/+39 334 2344136 or hough@caritas.va
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