Catholic bishops commend G8 emphasis on nutrition and transparency

Catholic bishops conferences of the G8 states, whose leaders meet in Fermanagh next week, have issued a joint statement hoping the summit “will be blessed by a spirit of collaboration that enables you to take steps to improve nutrition, reduce hunger and poverty, and strengthen just tax, trade and transparency policies for the common good of all”.

The statement’s 11 signatories include presidents of bishops conferences in the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and Japan, as well as Cardinal Seán Brady of Ireland, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of England and Wales, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Scotland, and the president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, Cardinal Reinhard Marx.

They said: “Your focus on agriculture and nutrition ahead of the G8 meeting is timely. In a world that has made great strides in improving food production and distribution, far too many of God’s children still go to bed hungry or suffer from a lack of nutrition, a tragedy that has lifelong consequences for health and educational achievement. In particular, there is a need to strengthen assistance to African countries in order to improve local agriculture.”

Tax evasion
They felt the "G8's attention to tax evasion, trade and transparency is equally timely." They noted that "The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: 'Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes…" They pointed out: "It is a moral obligation for citizens to pay their fair share of taxes for the common good... just as states also have an obligation to provide a reasonable and fair application of taxes with precision and integrity in administering and distributing public resources."