UK Catholic leaders will attend Edinburgh G8 rally
-26/06/05
There is a moral awakening taking place about world poverty, paralleled only by the movement to abolish slavery in the last century. That was the message today from Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The Cardinal said that he would personally be attending the rally at the Gleneagles G8 summit on 2 July, where the Make Poverty History Campaign and a series of global Live 8 concerts are planned to press the rich world on aid, just trade and debt relief for the global poor.
Questioned on BBC Radio 4 this morning, the Cardinal acknowledged that he was seeking to respond to the cynicism that has built up in some sections of society, with commentators accusing the G8 protests of being pointless or naive.
ìWe have an obligation as the rich to do somethingî, he said, citing support from African Catholics for word-wide support in tackling Africaís problems. But he added that there was also an awakening needed across Africa to ensure that the benefits of change were realised.
Together with the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor will take part in the rally, which is calling on the leaders of the wealthiest nations to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
However the participation of leading Catholic figures in the G8 rally is not without controversy. Some campaigners say that it is hypocritical of the Church to talk of a moral awakening when its own refusal to allow the use of condoms in the face of a global AIDS pandemic is condemning thousands of people to death.
Earlier this month the National Secular Society urged Bob Geldof not to involve Pope Benedict in endorsing Live 8. The activist and musician had sent a message to the head of the worldís 1.5 billion Catholics asking him to speak out in support of the G8 rallies and to come to Edinburgh. But all he received in return was a publicity photo.
UK Catholic leaders will attend Edinburgh G8 rally
-26/06/05
There is a moral awakening taking place about world poverty, paralleled only by the movement to abolish slavery in the last century. That was the message today from Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The Cardinal said that he would personally be attending the rally at the Gleneagles G8 summit on 2 July, where the Make Poverty History Campaign and a series of global Live 8 concerts are planned to press the rich world on aid, just trade and debt relief for the global poor.
Questioned on BBC Radio 4 this morning, the Cardinal acknowledged that he was seeking to respond to the cynicism that has built up in some sections of society, with commentators accusing the G8 protests of being pointless or naive.
‘We have an obligation as the rich to do something’, he said, citing support from African Catholics for word-wide support in tackling Africa’s problems. But he added that there was also an awakening needed across Africa to ensure that the benefits of change were realised.
Together with the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor will take part in the rally, which is calling on the leaders of the wealthiest nations to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
However the participation of leading Catholic figures in the G8 rally is not without controversy. Some campaigners say that it is hypocritical of the Church to talk of a moral awakening when its own refusal to allow the use of condoms in the face of a global AIDS pandemic is condemning thousands of people to death.
Earlier this month the National Secular Society urged Bob Geldof not to involve Pope Benedict in endorsing Live 8. The activist and musician had sent a message to the head of the world’s 1.5 billion Catholics asking him to speak out in support of the G8 rallies and to come to Edinburgh. But all he received in return was a publicity photo.