September 14, 2005

WASHINGTON/GENEVA – As world leaders gather for the United Nations World Summit, September 14-16 in New York to discuss among other concerns, global poverty reduction, an international group of Christian leaders has called on world governments to facilitate further partnerships with churches and religious organizations in the fight against poverty.

"We believe that our communities of faith, representing millions of people and sponsoring numerous human-development initiatives, can provide new models for advancing a global movement against poverty," the 30 church leaders from the Northern and Southern hemispheres said in a communiqué following a September 11-13 conference at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington D. C. A delegation of participants in the Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty presented this declaration to the World Summit in New York on the eve of the UN's 60th anniversary.

In the communiqué, they offered their partnership with political leaders in joint efforts to build a global movement that would realize the promises of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed on by world leaders in 2000. These goals are "a crucial step toward a more just world for all God's children," the Christian leaders said.

The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, was among participants in the international consultation, called for by churches of different Christian traditions in their search for a common affirmation of concern for the plight of people living in poverty worldwide. The Washington National Cathedral organized the event as part of its recently-established Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation.

For Noko, the churches' crucial role in advancing a global movement against poverty was aptly expressed by Bishop Theodore F. Schneider, Metropolitan Washington D. C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Speaking at the consultation, Schneider stressed that the ecumenical community could not afford to be silent at this critical time when globalization was dividing society into the ‘haves' and ‘have-nots.'

The representatives of churches and church bodies commended the UN as it marks its 60th anniversary this year for its work in peacemaking and global reconciliation, particularly the historic commitment to eradicate poverty in the MDGs' declaration. They noted however, that the five years since the declaration was made had been a "triumph of principle," but "a failure in practice."

"The increasing concentration of wealth in our world, while so many suffer, is a scandal that impoverishes us all," they said, and urged governments to create a just society by protecting human life, defending human rights and fostering just economies.

While welcoming the world's wealthiest nations' (G8) recent debt cancellation as a significant step forward, the Christian leaders called upon creditor nations and international institutions to cancel the remaining debt of all nations struggling with extreme poverty. "Too many nations still labor under a burden of debt that does not allow them to invest in the health, education, and economic development of their peoples," the church leaders said.

They affirmed the initiatives of countless church communities and faith-based relief and development agencies that work for and with those living in extreme poverty, and at the same time challenged churches to pursue further partnerships with governments, international organizations, civil society, and across confessional lines. "Without new strategic partnerships, the world will fail to fulfill the aspirations of the Millennium Declaration," they added.

Lutheran World Information