In an interview with Darren Gersh, Seamus Finn, OMI clearly draws the connections between decisions made by bankers and the lives of the poor. Fr. Finn talks about the need for greater disclosure of derivative risk – disclosure that a significant number of other shareholders have favored in recent Resolutions with Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. Up next is legislation on Capitol Hill that could force banks to spin off their derivatives business.

Watch the Nightly Business Report from June 7, 2010

The segment on derivatives begins14 minutes into the program

Fr. Finn emphasizes the need both to avoid incurring further debt in the re-building and to involve Haitians in the rebuilding of their country. He discusses ways in which the Nuncio, the Catholic Church and Oblates of the USA along with generous donors are working with the Haitian Bishop’s Conference to help Haiti rebuild. Fr. Finn also addresses the need to address the trauma – the psychological scars from the massive earthquake: the loss of families, homes, work, schools, churches…..

Listen to a podcast of the interview…

http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=359945

Please help us flood Congress with calls to support expanded debt cancellation for the poorest countries.

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Oblates have been present in Africa since Saint Eugene’s time and its importance for our Congregation keeps increasing. What do we know about Africa? While the Continent occasionally appears on the world news there is still too much silence about it. Very recently we got an opportunity to hear what our African Church leaders are saying about their Continent and I invite us all to lend them listening ears.

The first Synod for Africa was held 15 years ago. I still remember the opening ceremony, I had just settled here in Rome. As it seems, that synod was mostly a time to become acquainted. The post-synodal document, “Ecclesia in Africa”, inspired us with the image of “the Church as God’s Family” which it took “as its guiding idea for the evangelization of Africa” (EIA 63).

The “Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops” ended a week ago. It focused on “The Church in Africa in service to reconciliation, justice and peace”. Among the 240 participant bishops, eight were Oblates, and among the almost equal number of auditors, experts, fraternal delegates and helpers we had, for the first time, five of our scholastics involved, offering different services.

We will have to wait a few months for the main document to appear but the message given at the conclusion is already out. I found it particularly outspoken and striking, and to read the whole text is worthwhile. Let me highlight just a few points, in three steps. While the message tells us how the African Synod sees its continent, it may also offer us inspiration for our mission in other parts of the world.

I. At the outset, the synod offers an overall view of the Continent and does so in a balanced way. It starts off with the statement that “We live in a world full of contradictions and deep crisis. … In all this, Africa is the most hit. Rich in human and natural resources, many of our people are still left to wallow in poverty and misery, wars and conflicts, crisis and chaos.” Analyzing these situations it appears that those “are very rarely caused by natural disasters. They are largely due to human decisions and activities by people who have no regard for the common good and this often through a tragic complicity and criminal conspiracy of local leaders and foreign interests.” On the other hand the light of a new dawn is already shining. “Africa must not despair. … There is much good news in many parts of Africa. But the modern media often tend to emphasize bad news and thus seem to focus more on our woes and defects than on the positive efforts that we are making. Nations have emerged from long years of war and are moving gradually along the path of peace and prosperity. Good governance is making appreciable positive impact in some African nations, challenging others to review past and present bad habits.”

II. Following this overview, the synod turns to its main theme, which concerns reconciliation, justice and peace. We are invited to contemplate the heart of Christ: “The Church in Africa, both as family of God and as individual faithful has the duty to be instruments of peace and reconciliation, after the heart of Christ, who is our peace and reconciliation.” Is not reconciliation one of the great missionary tasks of the Oblates all over the world? The African Synod issues a call to help “break the vicious circle of offence, revenge and counter attack. In all this, the virtue of pardon is crucial, even before any admission of guilt. Those who say that pardon does not work should try revenge and see.” What a powerful message coming as it is from Church leaders who often are living in the in the midst of war and strife, or in its aftermath! It indicates as the only way out, making ours that pardon which flows from Christ’s heart. There is no alternative to it. “Those who say that pardon does not work should try revenge and see”.

III. A number of other themes follow, and I mention just a few. There is the appeal to the local Churches to “ensure real participation of women at appropriate levels”. There is the reference to HIV/AIDS when the Synod affirms “The Church is second to none in the fight against HIV/AIDS” and launches an appeal to follow programs that propose fidelity. “We address ourselves particularly to you, the youth. Let no one deceive you into thinking that you cannot control yourselves. Yes you can, with the grace of God.” There is finally the call on the great powers of the world: “we plead: treat Africa with respect and dignity.” “A change in the world economic order” is needed and the Synod is quite specific: “A change is called for with regard to the debts burden against poor nations, which literally kills children. Multinationals have to stop their criminal devastation of the environment in their greedy exploitation of natural resources. It is short-sighted policy to foment wars in order to make fast gains from chaos, at the cost of human lives and blood.” The appeal finishes with a loud cry: “Is there no one out there able and willing to stop all these crimes against humanity?”

I was touched by the whole message which contains both deep, faith-filled reflections and passionate, outspoken appeals. At the General House we got a taste of this spirit when about a dozen bishops, Oblates and others, visited with us during the second week of the proceedings. With this synod, the continent has made visible how much Africa is part of Christ’s body, the Church – part of all of us. Pope Benedict said at the inaugural Mass that “Africa represents an enormous spiritual ‘lung’ for a humanity that appears to be in a crisis of faith and hope”. Indeed, the synod’s message can help the whole Church to breathe some fresh air.

“Africa is not helpless. Our destiny is still in our hands. All she is asking for is the space to breathe and thrive. Africa is already moving; and the Church is moving with her, offering her the light of the Gospel.”

Oblates at Africa Synod

There was an Oblate presence at the Synod as well, eight bishops in all. There were seven from the different parts of Africa:

• Three from South Africa: Archbishop Buti TLHAGALE (Johannesburg), Bishop Barry WOOD (Auxiliary of Durban) and Bishop Edward RISI (Keimoes-Upington).
• Two from Namibia: Archbishop Liborius NASHENDA (Windhoek) and Bishop Joseph SHIKONGO (Rundu).
• One from Chad: Bishop Jean Claude BOUCHARD (Pala).
• One from Lesotho: Archbishop Gerard LEROTHOLI (Maseru).

Among the bishops invited by the Holy Father was Archbishop Orlando QUEVEDO (Cotabato, Philippines). He serves as General Secretary of the Federation of Asian Episcopal Conferences. Also assisting at the Synod were four Oblate students from the International Scholasticate who had the unique opportunity of serving as “assistants” to the Synod Fathers during the three-week event at the Vatican:

• Bro. Bonga Thamsanqa MAJOLA (Northern Prov. South Africa)
• Bro. Thabang NKADIMENG (Northern Prov. South Africa)
• Bro. Ndodana TSHUMA (Zimbabwe)
• Bro. Andreas Sekake THAMAE (Lesotho)
• Bro. Marcin SERWIN (Assumption)

Without debt relief, the developing world has little hope of economic progress, say the Rev. John Welch* and Ruth Messinger*.

The two members of Jubilee USA argue for debt cancellation in the poorest countries in a compelling article published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on the eve of the G-20, the international financial summit being hosted by President Obama.

According to the two religious leaders, “The global financial crisis, which has devastated families in Western Pennsylvania and nationwide, is having an even more dire impact in the developing world. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the global South, children who should be in school are instead hospitalized with diseases that could have been prevented with simple vaccinations. But the money many of these countries should be spending on basic education and health care is instead being funneled to multilateral banks in the form of steep debt payments.

The affected countries didn’t land in this predicament just by their own irresponsibility. If anything, they are paying the price for recklessness on Wall Street. They have often been victimized by bankers who aggressively made loans to brutal and corrupt governments, knowing full well that those loans would not benefit the people. In many cases, soaring interest rates and compound interest make it impossible for these countries to eradicate debt even after scrupulously making their payments time and again.”

Read the article in its entirety.

*Rev. John Welch, vice president for student services and dean of students at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, is president of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (www.piin.org). Ruth Messinger is president of the American Jewish World Service (www.ajws.org).

Read the letter here.

‘Vulture fund’ is a name given to a company that seeks to make profit by buying up debt that is in default on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar, then sues the country in US or European courts once creditor countries forgive the debts owed them by a struggling country. As the value of the remaining debt rises, the Vulture Fund can often recover up to ten times the purchase price.

Some vulture funds target failing companies, but the ‘vulture fund’ campaign is focused on those that target the sovereign debts of impoverished countries.

Learn more about the vulture funds campaign

The Oblate JPIC Office joins other members of the Jubilee USA Network in welcoming the news that, at last, Haiti has reached “completion point” in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries program.

This step means the cancellation of $1.2 billion in external debt owed by the impoverished island nation to bilateral and multilateral lenders including the IMF, World Bank, and US government. The Boards of the World Bank and IMF met on June 30 to formally approve Haiti’s debt stock cancellation under HIPC and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.

“Today’s action to free Haiti of its unjust and unpayable external debt is a welcome and long overdue step. Debt cancellation will provide desperately needed relief for the people of Haiti,” said Neil Watkins, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of religious groups, development agencies, and human rights groups that has campaigned for Haiti’s debt cancellation for more than five years.

Haiti suffered through a serious of humanitarian crises in 2008 and endured the devastating impact of four hurricanes. Sharp increases in food and energy prices have also led to an escalation of hunger among the poorest sectors of the population. And Haiti now faces the severe and negative effects of the recent downtown in the global economy.

Through this time of crisis for the island nation, a coalition of political leaders and organizations has pressed for the immediate cancellation of Haiti’s debt. US organizations including Jubilee USA Network, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, TransAfrica Forum, the Quixote Center, Center for Economic and Policy Research, the Episcopal Church, and Partners in Health worked together to build the political will in the US for Haiti’s debt cancellation, in partnership with colleagues in Haiti, throughout the Americas, across Europe and around the world.

In the US, a bi-partisan coalition of 72 Members of Congress signed a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick in February 2009 urging immediate debt cancellation for Haiti. In April 2009, the Obama Administration announced it would cover up to $20 million in debt service payments from Haiti until Haiti reached completion point.

Haiti – the most impoverished nation in the Hemisphere – faced a long struggle to achieve debt cancellation, facing repeated delays under the World Bank/IMF Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Haiti’s completion point date was repeatedly pushed back by the World Bank. Jubilee USA and its partners have long argued that much of Haiti’s debt should be considered odious, dating back to loans contracted and often stolen by the brutal Duvalier dictatorships.

For more information, read the World Bank press release on Haiti’s completion point.

A bipartisan group of 72 US Representatives called on World Bank President Robert Zoellick late yesterday to immediately suspend all scheduled debt repayments from Haiti and grant complete debt cancellation to the impoverished nation. Haiti currently sends $1.6 million to the World Bank every month while thousands of Haitians starve and the nation struggles to fill a severe budget gap that threatens the struggling democracy’s stability.

The letter to President Zoellick was circulated by US Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) as well as Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee. The Representatives express deep concern about “the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Haiti and the difficulties Haiti has faced in qualifying for the cancellation of its debts.” “We understand that Haiti is scheduled to send approximately $20 million to the World Bank in 2009,” the letter reads, “Clearly, this money would be better spent on basic infrastructure and poverty reduction for the Haitian people.” Signers include 72 US Representatives from across the political spectrum, including Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Donald Payne (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA).

Download a PDF of the letter from Members of Congress to World Bank President Zoellick

“After enduring four tropical storms last summer on top of an escalating food crisis, Haiti must now contend with the fallout of the global economic meltdown. It is outrageous to ask Haiti to wait one minute longer for debt relief under these circumstances,” said Neil Watkins, Executive Director of the Jubilee USA Network, a coalition of faith-based, development, human rights and community organizations working for debt relief for all impoverished countries. Jubilee members encouraged their Representatives to sign on to the letter.

“If Robert Zoellick wants to give Haiti a chance, he should start by unconditionally canceling Haiti’s debt,” said Brian Concannon of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. “Haiti’s debt is not only unconscionable, it is unjust- today’s Haitian citizens are literally starving to pay back debts that the Banks made to yesterday’s Haitian dictators.”

Haiti will be eligible for substantial debt relief upon completion of the IMF and World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program. The Banks improperly left Haiti out of the original HIPC in 1996 for political reasons. The country was accepted into HIPC in 2006, but Haiti’s efforts to catch up have been hindered by economic policy conditions imposed by the IMF and a string of natural disasters, economic shocks, and political unrest.

Earlier this month Haitian President René Préval appealed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for immediate financial assistance, describing a $100 million budget gap that he said could throw Haiti into anarchy. Haiti can expect to be severely and negatively affected by the recent downturn in the economy of the United States. Not only does the United States serve as a valuable market for Haiti’s exports, Haiti is also heavily dependent on remittances from Haitians living in the United States, which dwarf international assistance.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate are a founding member of Jubilee USA. Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of 75 religious denominations, faith communities, development agencies, human and worker rights organizations, and environmental groups building the political will for poor country debt cancellation and more responsible international finance to fight global poverty.

WASHINGTON, DC and LONDON — International debt campaigners today called on rich country finance ministers meeting at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington DC to end the outrageous delays to debt relief for Haiti and Liberia – two of the poorest countries in the world.

They are calling on rich country governments to act with the same urgency in tackling the food crisis and global poverty as they have with the banking crisis in recent weeks. Campaigners point out that the ‘emergency bailout’ for big banks has been fast-tracked, while two countries on the receiving end of the impacts of the food and financial crises – Haiti and Liberia – are facing new delays to debt relief that has been long promised.

A new report on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt relief initiative produced for the annual meetings has announced that the likely date for Haiti to receive debt relief has been put back six months from ‘last quarter 2008′ to ‘first half 2009′ [1]. Meanwhile Liberia, which spent two years, while recovering from civil war, waiting for donors to agree how to clear its arrears so it could even ‘qualify’ for debt relief, is being told not to expect any until 2010.

Neil Watkins, National Coordinator of Jubilee USA Network, said: “After four hurricanes in a month and an escalating food crisis it is outrageous that Haiti is being told it must wait six more months for debt relief. This is like Hank Paulson telling Wall Street he will get back to them in the New Year.”

“Haiti has been dealing with multiple crises in recent months. As a result it is still spending $1 million a week on debt service while its people starve. As we’ve seen this month, when Wall Street bankers are affected, they get fast tracked for debt relief. But the people of Haiti don’t seem to matter very much in Washington. Haiti needs the immediate debt cancellation of its illegitimate debt that it has long been promised now,” said Watkins.

Nick Dearden, Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign UK, said: “Liberia has a large, illegitimate commercial debt burden and both the government and its creditors are ready to make a deal via the Debt Reduction Facility, but are being held up by delays in the World Bank bureaucracy. The people working on the DRF should stop crisis-watching on CNN and get on with releasing funds that will save people’s lives.”

“Liberia is on the front line of the global food crisis, and yet it is still being told it must wait until 2010 for debt relief to be delivered. In such a rapidly-changing world, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative is increasingly looking like an outdated process. It’s time for an urgent injection of political will to get some liquidity back into debt cancellation, and bail out the world’s poor from a mess they had no part in creating,” said Dearden.

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[1] Haiti’s likely completion date for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s debt cancellation scheme, has been put back from ‘last quarter 2008′ to ‘first half 2009′ – a delay of up to six months. See Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative: Status of Implementation report, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, 12 September 2008.

For more information, see Jubilee USA and Jubilee Debt Campaign, UK

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