Pope Benedict XVI prayed that a summit of the leaders of countries with the world’s largest economies would find ways to overcome the current economic crisis and promote real development. At the end of his weekly general audience Nov. 2, the pope issued a special appeal to the leaders of the G-20 nations scheduled to meet Nov. 3-4 in Cannes, France. “I hope the meeting will help overcome the difficulties, which — on a global level — block the promotion of an authentically human and integral development,” the pope said. The G-20 members are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. The agenda for the Cannes meeting aimed at finding ways to coordinate economic policies to reduce global imbalances between rich and poor; strengthening the regulation of financial markets; and promoting development in the world’s poorer countries despite the global crisis. In view of the Cannes summit, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace released a document Oct. 24 calling for the gradual creation of a world political authority with broad powers to regulate financial markets, rein in the “inequalities and distortions of capitalist development,” and promote development and the common good. In his main audience talk, Pope Benedict spoke about the day’s feast of All Souls and the need for Catholics to live in a way that really makes clear their belief in eternal life.
VATICAN CITY (CNS)