Latest news with #Caritas'
Herald Malaysia
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
‘Crippling' debt weighing down
3.3 billion people or nearly half the world's population, live in countries that spend more money on debt than on health care. Jun 06, 2025 VATICAN: 3.3 billion people or nearly half the world's population, live in countries that spend more money on debt than on health care. That was one of the more shocking statistics to emerge from a recent online town hall organised by Caritas Internationalis, the charitable arm of the Catholic Church. Held on May 28, the webinar brought together more than 200 individuals, humanitarian workers, internationally-recognised economists, and senior Vatican officials, to discuss debt, climate, and development. Alastair Dutton, Caritas' Secretary-General, introduced the discussion. He suggested that the fact that so many countries spend more on servicing their debt than on health care and education shows that, in today's economy, human beings are secondary 'to economic interest'. Dutton also highlighted that the subject of debt reform has already been raised by Pope Leo, just weeks into his pontificate. The topic was also seen as crucial, the Caritas chief noted, by the late Pope Francis who, in 2024, called for a 'multinational mechanism' to manage debt between countries, avoiding an 'every man for himself' mentality in which 'it is always the weakest' who lose out. In his remarks, Dutton highlighted Caritas' Turn Debt Into Hope campaign, which calls for the forgiveness of unjust debt. The aim of the campaign is to build public pressure around unfair debt practises. Caritas officer Alfonso Apicella explained, particularly in view of the Catholic Church's ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year, a period traditionally associated with financial clemency. 'There are 1.4 billion Catholics in the world,' Apicella said, 'and we want to show that they have agency.' Among the other speakers at the event was Professor Martin Guzmán of Columbia University, a former Argentinian Minister of Economy. Professor Guzmán highlighted the devastating effects of the global debt system on the world's poorest countries, which, he said, are charged higher interest rates than their richer peers. He also discussed the work of the Vatican's Jubilee Commission of Experts, chaired by the Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, which is producing a report on debt and development crises in the Global South. Meanwhile, Sr Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Holy See's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, highlighted Pope Francis' notion of the 'ecological debt' owed by rich countries towards the poorer countries, which are suffering the effects of a climate crisis which they have contributed much less to causing. This was a topic also touched on by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, who noted that the concept of ecological debt was also highlighted by Pope Francis in his Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year. 'The concept of 'jubilee' is deeply rooted in Scripture as a time of restoration when debts are forgiven and relationships are reconciled,' Caccia explained. 'In our time, this tradition speaks directly to the lived experience of millions across the globe.' More than 50 nations are currently in or at high risk of bankruptcy and around half of the world's population are living in countries where debt payments exceed spending on services such as health care and education, the Holy See representative highlighted during the Wednesday meeting. Describing the current debt crisis as a 'profound failure of our global economic system,' Caccia expressed hope for a 'renewed vision of multilateralism' at the United Nations' upcoming fourth International Conference on Financing for Development to take place from June 30 to July 5 in Seville, Spain. 'No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable,' Caccia said, quoting Pope Leo's May 16 speech to diplomats accredited to the Holy See. 'Together we can turn the jubilee vision of hope into a tangible action, ensuring that no one is left behind,' he shared with webinar participants. --Vatican Media/CNA
Herald Malaysia
29-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Malaysia
Caritas: ‘Crippling' debt weighing down developing countries
Vatican officials, charity workers, and internationally-recognised economists come together to discuss debt reform in an online town hall organised by Caritas Internationalis. May 29, 2025 A participant at an International Monetary Fund meeting stands near the organisation's logo (Johannes P. Christo) By Joseph Tulloch3.3 billion people – or nearly half the world's population – live in countries that spend more money on debt than on healthcare. That was one of the more shocking statistics to emerge from a recent online town hall organised by Caritas Internationalis , the charitable arm of the Catholic Church. Held on Wednesday, the webinar brought together more than 200 individuals – humanitarian workers, internationally-recognised economists, and senior Vatican officials – to discuss debt, climate, and development. 'Turn debt into hope' Alastair Dutton, Caritas' Secretary-General, introduced the discussion. He suggested that the fact that so many countries spend more on servicing their debt than on healthcare and education shows that, in today's economy, human beings are secondary "to economic interest'. Dutton also highlighted that the subject of debt reform has already been raised by Pope Leo, just weeks into his pontificate. The topic was also seen as crucial, the Caritas chief noted, by the late Pope Francis – who, in 2024, called for a 'multinational mechanism' to manage debt between countries, avoiding an 'every man for himself' mentality in which 'it is always the weakest' who lose out. In his remarks, Dutton highlighted Caritas' Turn Debt Into Hope campaign, which calls for the forgiveness of unjust debt. The aim of the campaign – as Caritas officer Alfonso Apicella explained – is to build public pressure around unfair debt practises, particularly in view of the Catholic Church's ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year, a period traditionally associated with financial clemency. 'There are 1.4 billion Catholics in the world,' Apicella said, 'and we want to show that they have agency.' The impact of the debt system Among the other speakers at the event was Professor Martin Guzmán of Columbia University, a former Argentinian Minister of Economy. Professor Guzmán highlighted the devastating effects of the global debt system on the world's poorest countries, which, he said, are charged higher interest rates than their richer peers. He also discussed the work of the Vatican's Jubilee Commission of Experts, chaired by the Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, which is producing a report on debt and development crises in the Global South. Meanwhile, Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Holy See's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, highlighted Pope Francis' notion of the 'ecological debt' owed by rich countries towards the poorer countries - which are suffering the effects of a climate crisis which they have contributed much less to causing. This was a topic also touched on by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, who noted that the concept of ecological debt was also highlighted by Pope Francis in his Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year. Archbishop Caccia stressed the importance of clearly communicating the impact of the debt system on poor countries. 'It's not just a technical matter of economics,' he said, but 'a clear hindrance to integral human development.'--Vatican News
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
A contender for the papacy in the mold of Francis
Francis was the only pope in the modern era who was born outside Europe. If Tagle ascends to the papacy, he would be the first Asian pontiff in modern times. (Several popes in antiquity were from Syria, which is technically in West Asia, though it is now considered part of the Middle East.) Advertisement At the Vatican, Tagle oversees missionary work. Widely known by his nickname 'Chito,' he is often called the 'Asian Francis' for his ability to connect with the poor, his call for action against climate change and his criticism of the 'harsh' stance adopted by Catholic clerics toward gay people, divorced people, and unwed mothers. He is popular for his humility, and his homilies have drawn the faithful to the pews and to Facebook streams. Advertisement But as leader of the church in the Philippines, he was criticized by activists and fellow priests as being timid about the scourge of clerical sex abuse. Those complaints continued as his profile in the church rose. Last month, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, an advocacy group, urged the Vatican to investigate Tagle's conduct in relation to cases of alleged clerical abuse in the Central African Republic and New Zealand. (The group also sought inquiries into five other cardinals.) Separately, in 2022, Pope Francis removed the entire management team of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican's charitable arm, including Tagle, who served as president. An external review had found management and morale problems at Caritas' head office. Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle attended a rosary prayer next to a portrait of late Pope Francis at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome on April 24. MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images At home, Tagle has been faulted for not adequately addressing former president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, in which tens of thousands of people were summarily executed. 'Had Chito spoken clearly and courageously during the Duterte administration, fewer people could have died,' said the Rev. Robert Reyes, who was in seminary with Tagle. At the time, the cardinal was archbishop of Manila. He called for an 'end to the waste of human lives' but did not confront Duterte directly. Tagle did not respond to a request for an interview. Today, Tagle is one of five cardinals from the Philippines. Some Vatican insiders see Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, who has a lower profile, as a potential pope as well. When the Philippine legislature proposed a bill to make it easier to access contraception, Tagle called on lawmakers to reject it. But he said later he disagreed with fellow members of the clergy who threatened several lawmakers with excommunication. Advertisement 'He tries to persuade people rather than intimidate them,' said the Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, who taught Tagle at The Catholic University of America in Washington in the 1980s. While Tagle was leader of the church in the Philippines, Duterte frequently mocked Catholicism and insulted Pope Francis. Duterte has said he was molested by a priest when he was a child. Some priests, including David, criticized his drug war. But Tagle stayed silent. His critics often point to Cardinal Jaime Sin, who was instrumental in toppling dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Related : On the issue of clerical abuse, Tagle has said that survivors' accounts 'wound' him. But he has also said that survivors should seek justice through the church's canonical process because 'the victims, once exposed to the public, might also be shamed.' The church, he said, should also care for 'the abuser, who is definitely lost.' 'This is a very Asian approach,' he told the Union Catholic Asian News in 2013, 'and that approach leads to healing.' 'The sad thing is that Cardinal Tagle is very much out of touch with the realities facing the sexual abuse of children by priests and brothers,' said the Rev. Shay Cullen, an Irish priest working in the Philippines. He said the cardinal had told him the church was more concerned about matters like divorce. Tagle's approach has contributed to a culture of impunity in the church in the Philippines, according to a watchdog group, Tagle has acknowledged being criticized for 'not being strong, that I don't condemn enough,' but he said he took heart from Francis' example, according to a 2015 interview with Crux, a publication specializing in the Catholic Church. 'Who am I to judge?' he said, repeating Francis' position on gay priests. Advertisement Born in Manila, Tagle was raised in the city of Imus by parents who worked in a bank. He wanted to be a doctor but entered seminary after attending Ateneo de Manila, a top Jesuit university. Ordained in 1982 at the age of 24, he later wrote his doctoral thesis on Pope Paul VI at Catholic University. In Washington, on his own initiative, he regularly visited a hospice for people suffering from AIDS, said the Rev. Peter Bernardi, a classmate. He returned to Imus in 1992, where he was known to travel by bicycle or jeepney, a cheap mode of public transport. In the following decades, he was named archbishop of Manila, then a cardinal, and eventually he moved to the Vatican. Now he could rise to the helm of the church. This article originally appeared in .
