Rodriguez says Catholics should encourage, follow pope's request
By CHRISTINE McINTYRE
News Writer
As they sat in the Snite Annenberg auditorium Saturday, students, faculty, administrators and members of the South Bend community were called to join the Catholic campaign to curb international debt.
It marked the last in a series of week-long Jubilee Debt Relief events. Keynote speaker Archbishop Oscar Rodriguez, former president of the Latin American Bishops Conference, echoed Pope John Paul II's call for debt forgiveness for 41 severely impoverished countries for the new millennium.
"International debt is a dangerous obstacle to human development. It effects human dignity and human rights," Rodriguez told representatives from Ghana, Haiti, Honduras and Uganda as well as the Notre Dame, Saint Mary's and Holy Cross communities.
In attempting to repay foreign debts, poor countries are forced to take money and other government resources away important developmental programs, Rodriguez said.
"[The] existence of debt has social and financial costs," said Rodriguez. "Money is taken from programs for school and health." This leads to inadequate prenatal care for pregnant women, poor treatment and counseling for the sick and the denial of education to many children, he said.
A major financial implication of high debt is that investors are likely to stay away.
"[Unrepayable debt] discourages foreign direct investment, affects commerce and stifles the consumption and development of markets," according to pamphlet compiled by the Ugandan Women's Network (UWN) and distributed at the lecture. This makes it difficult for the countries to make the capital necessary to pay off their debts, according to the UWN.
Rodriguez compared a country's debt to an individual's debt. When individuals borrow money, they receive it directly, Rodriguez said.
"If a country borrows money, citizens are not necessarily notified of the terms and conditions of the loan," Rodriguez said.
Another important difference is unlike individual people, countries can't file for bankruptcy, he explained. But this is a chance for renewal.
"The Jubilee symbolizes a fresh start for the poor. The year 2000 is an opportunity for justice and a solution for those countries in debt. God is the sole owner of the whole Earth. His people must administer the goods of Earth according to God's plan," Rodriguez said.
John Paul II officially named 2000 a year of Jubilee, a tradition dating back to Leviticus which emphasizes mending relationships and righting old wrongs. Rodriguez offered ways in which Catholics could answer the pope's call.
"There must be a dialogue between the world of economics and the world of ethics. Debt relief and helping poor countries go together," he said.
Rodriguez, along with other panel members including co-chairs student Angela Anderson and Jay Caponigro from the Center for Social Concerns, urged members of the audience to raise public consciousness.
They also encouraged them to contact members of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and Congress members and to urge them to support debt relief.
A Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart followed the lecture.
All News Stories for Monday, April 3, 2000
