G20: Pope Francis writes to Tony Abbott, urges PM to ensure G20 delivers improvements for the poor

Updated

The Pope has written to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, urging him to ensure the G20 delivers real improvements to the lives of the poor.

The G20 meeting in Brisbane this weekend will see the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies discuss a wide range of economic issues.

The letter from Pope Francis was sent to Mr Abbott, who is a Catholic, last week.

Pope Francis described Australia's presidency of the G20 group as an "excellent opportunity for everyone to appreciate Oceania's significant contributions to the management of world affairs".

In his letter, the pontiff exhorted all G20 leaders to remember their responsibility to create fairer and more transparent economic structures that would effectively "banish the spectre of global recession".

"I would ask the G20 heads of state and government not to forget that many lives are at stake behind these political and technical discussions," he said.

"It would indeed be regrettable if such discussions were to remain purely on the level of declarations of principle."

Pope Francis emphasised the need to protect people from abuses in the financial system, and specifically referred to the transactions that led to the global recession in 2008 as a "less evident but equally real and serious" form of aggression against human rights.

"[The] mentality that maximisation of profits is the final criterion of all economic activity ... in which individuals are ultimately discarded, will never achieve peace or justice," he said.

"Responsibility for the poor and the marginalised must therefore be an essential element of any political decision, whether on the national or the international level."

Pope calls for greater cooperation between G20 nations

While Pope Francis said there was "reason for gratitude" that the political disagreements between G20 members had not impeded dialogue and cooperation amongst leaders, he insisted "more is required".

The Pope expressed his concerns on the rising levels of unemployment, particularly amongst young people, in his letter to Mr Abbott.

"Throughout the world, the G20 countries included, there are far too many women and men suffering from severe malnutrition, a rise in the number of the unemployed, an extremely high percentage of young people without work."

There are constant assaults on the natural environment, the result of unbridled consumerism, and this will have serious consequences for the world economy. Pope Francis

He said an increase in unemployment and social exclusion can lead to criminal activity, and even the recruitment of terrorists.

Pope Francis called on the G20 members to act with solidarity and take the lead, through the United Nations legal system, to stop terrorism.

"The whole world expects from the G20 an ever broader agreement which can lead ... to a definitive halt to the unjust aggression directed at different religious and ethnic groups, including minorities, in the Middle East," he said.

"It should also lead to eliminating the root causes of terrorism, which has reached proportions hitherto unimaginable; these include poverty, underdevelopment and exclusion."

Pope Francis also wrote about the need for G20 leaders to address the "vital issue" of climate change in his letter.

"There are constant assaults on the natural environment, the result of unbridled consumerism, and this will have serious consequences for the world economy," he said.

Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, community-and-society, religion-and-beliefs, catholic, brisbane-4000, holy-see-vatican-city-state

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