Caritas Internationalis

Pope Benedict XVI has sent British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a letter ahead of the Group of 20 summit to be held this week in London.

His Excellency
The Right Honourable Mr. Gordon Brown
Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

During your recent visit to the Vatican, you kindly briefed me on the Summit taking place in London from 2 to 3 April 2009 with the participation of representatives from the world’s twenty largest economies. As you explained, the aim of this meeting is to coordinate, with urgency, measures necessary to stabilize financial markets and to enable companies and families to weather this period of deep recession, in order to restore sustainable growth in the world economy and to reform and substantially strengthen systems of global governance, in order to ensure that such a crisis is not repeated in the future.
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Fr Joe Komakoma, Secretary General of the Zambian Bishops Conference, gives his thoughts to World Leaders on the Put People First march in London, 28th March 2009. Care of Caritas England and Wales (CAFOD)

Secretary General of the Zambian Bishops Conference Fr Joe Komakoma addresses the people at the Put People First rally in London ahead of the G20. Fr Komakoma calls for climate justice

By Cafod staff

Ahead of the G20 meeting, Caritas England and Wales (CAFOD) campaigners took part in a march on Saturday, March 28 in London to call for a change in global economics. They were joined by Church voices from around the world.

Gradually the crowd grew.

A few campaign veterans, greeting old friends and waving their home-made banners were the first to make their way to the ecumenical service before the Put People First rally.

Then came the families with buggies and backpacks, the first-time marchers not quite sure what to expect, the church groups and the gangs of friends who’d come to start the day with prayer – and then to put their faith into action by joining the march.

I squeezed with them into the back of the huge auditorium of Methodist Central Hall, in time to hear Father Joe Komakoma, a CAFOD partner from Zambia explain about the impacts of the economic crisis on his country.
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Caritas Australia is calling on G20 leaders to put the poor in the developing world front and centre at next week’s London Summit.

“International bailouts from the financial crisis have exceed $4 trillion USD – yet an increase of about $50 billion per year would ensure we meet the Millennium Development Goals”, says Caritas Australia CEO Jack de Groot.

Caritas Australia and AusAID are currently conducting the Blue Print for Change Exhibition: The Millennium Development Goals and YOU exhibition around Australia and it will launch in Rockhampton Queensland on the 31st March 2009.

Britain is in recession. Money is tight, jobs are threatened and we are all feeling the pinch. Tell global leaders to Put People First by joining us to pray and march on March 28 in London

Alongside other development charities, unions and green groups, CAFOD are calling on the G20 to address this crisis by putting people first. This means creating jobs, bringing justice for those living in poverty in developing countries and protecting the climate.

Joanne Green, CAFOD head of policy, says: “The world’s poorest must have a full and equal say in developing a radically different economic system – one which puts people and the environment first.”