Published: July 05, 2009 06:42 pm      

Pope urges G8 leaders to act on crisis

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has urged G-8 leaders meeting in Italy next week to rewrite global financial rules and defend the world's poor from the effects of the economic downturn, the Vatican said Saturday.

In a letter to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who will chair the summit, Benedict appealed to leaders to "listen to the voice of Africa and of the countries that are less developed economically."

Benedict said the economic crisis means there is a "real risk not only that hopes to emerge from extreme poverty will be dashed, but that populations that so far have benefited from a minimum of material well-being will fall into poverty."

The pope called on the leaders to "reform the international financial architecture" to avoid the speculative operations blamed for the crisis and ensure public and private credit is made available for economic development and job creation, especially in poor regions.

He also urged leaders to improve access to education and jobs, and to work to create a "fair international trade system" by completing the stalled Doha round of world trade talks.

The pope has frequently spoken out on the crisis, urging leaders to rethink the global financial system and ensure the world's poor don't end up bearing the brunt of the downturn, even though they are not responsible for it.

In the letter published Saturday by the Vatican, Benedict recalled that such issues are also dealt with in his latest encyclical, which outlines ways make globalization more attentive to meeting the needs of the poor amid the crisis.

The document, the most authoritative a pope can issue, was signed last week and is expected to be published Tuesday, on the eve of the G-8 summit.

Some of the participants will visit the Vatican, including U.S. President Barack Obama who will have his first meeting with Benedict on Friday.

In his letter to Berlusconi, Benedict also wrote that all nations must be included on key decisions and multilateralism must be strengthened not only in the economic field but also on issues including security, disarmament, heath and the environment protection.

"All needs must be taken into careful consideration, not only those of the most important nations or of those with greater economic success," he wrote in the letter dated July 1. "Only this can make such decisions truly applicable and sustainable in time."

Leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations and other countries will meet for three days starting Wednesday in the quake-hit city of L'Aquila.

The summit, originally set to take place in the posh Sardinian island of La Maddalena, was moved to the mountain town to highlight the population's plight after the area was hit by a devastating earthquake in April.

Benedict praised Berlusconi's decision to move the summit, saying that such a gesture, as well as the national and international relief efforts in the quake zone, could serve as an example for how the world's problems should be tackled.

"This supportive mobilization could serve as an invitation to the members of the G-8 and the governments and peoples of the world to face the current challenges united," Benedict wrote in the letter.