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Engagement de religieux à un travail en commun pour servir les intérêts des plus démunis…
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In a letter issued in advance of the G20 meeting in London, political
leaders are called upon to consider the moral issues at the root of
the current financial crisis, and to pay special attention to the
needs of poor, marginalised and vulnerable people: « to forget their
needs would be to compound regrettable past failures with needless
future injustices ».
Attention is drawn to promises made by the international community in
« easier times – which now risk being -postponed by the pressing concern
to rectify market failures « .
« Even in these difficult times we strongly urge the leaders of the G20
to hold fast to the commitments they have made to the world’s poorest
people, » says the statement.
Recognising that people « who have lost jobs, savings, or homes, are in
need of immediate help » the statement stresses the need for the G20 to
fulfill its promises to the poor, citing World Bank figures that « 53
million more people could fall into absolute poverty » as a result of
the world financial crisis, the faith leaders » hope was that « poorer
countries would be allowed to trade their way to prosperity ».
The text of the letter reads:
« We write as religious leaders who share a belief in God and the
dignity of human life. We wish to acknowledge with realism and
humility the severity of the current economic crisis and the sheer
complexity of the global and local challenge faced by political
leaders. We pray for the leaders of the G20 as they prepare to meet in
London this week. They, and we, have a crucial role to play in
recovering that lost sense of balance between the requirements of
market mechanisms that help deliver increased prosperity, and the
moral requirement to safeguard human dignity, regardless of economic
or social category.
Many people are suffering as a result of the economic crisis. The
World Bank estimates that 53 million more people could fall into
absolute poverty as a result of the crisis. The likelihood is that
more will face significant hardship before it comes to an end, and
those who are already poor suffer the most. Along with the leaders of
the G20 we all have a duty to look at the faces of the poor around the
world and to act with justice, to think with compassion, and to look
with hope to a sustainable vision of the future.
We wish therefore to draw attention to some of the promises made by
the international community in recent times – with our wholehearted
support – that risk being postponed by the pressing concern to rectify
market failures. We need to be properly conscious that all communities
include, and must pay special attention to the needs of, poor,
marginalised and vulnerable people. To forget their needs would be to
compound regrettable past failures with needless future injustices.
Some aspects of this crisis will require technical economic solutions.
However those solutions alone will not be enough to address all the
questions that we face. At the roots of this crisis lie important
moral issues.
We are concerned for people and the work they do. We believe there is
a need to consider the aspirations of both rich and poor; to examine
our own expectations and how realistic they are; and to root future
global patterns of work in our understanding of human dignity. We
recognize that people who have lost jobs, savings, or homes, or who
now live with the worry of what the future might bring are in need of
immediate help. Their hope is for sustainable employment and not
continuing job insecurity.
The international community has made important commitments to the
developing world. The Millennium Development Goals are of fundamental
importance and cannot now be forgotten. Even in these difficult times
we strongly urge the leaders of the G20 to hold fast to the
commitments they have made to the world’s poorest people. We still
need to find ways to enable poorer countries to trade their way to
prosperity. We hold that promises made to the poor are especially
sacred.
When we spend now, we have to pay later. This also applies when we use
up the resources of the natural environment. Morally binding
commitments to cut carbon emissions and so to slow the devastating
effects of man-made climate change have been made in recent years.
They should not be forgotten or postponed. We call on the whole of the
international community to hold firm to commitments already made. Most
recognise that even more radical commitments will need to be agreed in
the near future.
The leaders of the G20 countries are concerned to recover stability in
the global economy. We support those efforts. And we pray that as they
deliberate they will be mindful of the need to protect the vulnerable
from unintended injustice and to respect the commitments they made in
easier times.
Dr Musharraf Hussain Azhari
Chief Imam and Executive Officer, Karimia Institute
Chair, Christian-Muslim Forum
Dr Mohammed Abdul Bari
Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain
Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield
Head, Movement for Reform Judaism
Dr Girdhari Bhan
President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (UK)
Mr Anil Bhanot
General Secretary, Hindu Council UK
Mr Steve Clifford
General Director, Evangelical Alliance
Mr Khurshid Drabu
Project Director, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, UK (MINAB)
Mr Henry Grunwald
President, Board of Deputies of British Jews
Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian
Primate, Armenian Orthodox Church of Great Britain
Mr Sanjay Jagatia
Secretary-General, National Council of Hindu Temples UK (NCHT)
The Most Revd Dr Idris Jones
Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway
Primus, Scottish Episcopal Church
Mr Ramesh Kallidai
General Secretary, Hindu Forum of Britain
Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi
Founder & Director, The Britslam Partnership.
Commissioner Elizabeth Matear
Moderator of the Free Churches Group
Ayatollah Sayyid Fazel Milani
Al-Khoei Foundation
Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra
Chairman, Religions for Peace, UK
The Most Revd Barry Morgan
Bishop of Llandaff,
Archbishop, The Church in Wales
His Eminence Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor
Archbishop of Westminster, President of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of England and Wales
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the UK
Mrs Ravinder Kaur Nijjar
Sikh Community, Scotland
His Eminence Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien
Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, President of the Scottish
Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Mr Jitu Patel
Chairman, Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha
Rabbi Danny Rich
Chief Executive, Liberal Judaism
Dr Nawal Prinja and the Rt Revd Tom Butler
Sir Jonathan Sacks
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala Nayaka Thera
Sangha Nayaka of Great Britain
Head of the Sri Lankan Sangha Sabha of Great Britain
Head of the London Buddhist Vihara
The Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr. John Sentamu
The Archbishop of York
Dr Indarjit Singh, CBE
Director, Network of Sikh Organisations UK
Dr Natubhai Shah MBBS, PhD
Chair, Jain Network
Sir Sigmund Sternberg, KCSG
Co-Founder, Three Faiths Forum,
Senior Advisor, Community of Religious Leaders, World Economic Forum,
Patron, International Council of Christians and Jews,
Vice President, World Congress of Faiths
The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr. Rowan Williams
The Archbishop of Canterbury
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