via Yonhap NA, Seoul, South Korea
10 November 2010
Pope Benedict XVI called on the Group of 20 nations to draw fair consensus that will serve the common interest of the international community and respect humanity.
In a letter to President Lee Myung-bak, the pope sent words of encouragement to the leaders of the world's 20 advanced and emerging market nations who will get together in Seoul on Thursday and Friday to work out a global financial roadmap.
"I therefore encourage you to take the numerous serious problems facing you ... bearing in mind the deeper reasons for the economic and financial crisis," the pope said in the letter released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.
"In doing so, it is my hope that there will be a keen awareness that the solutions adopted, as such, will work only if, in the final analysis, they are aimed at reaching the same goal: the authentic and integral development of man."
Accords of the Group of 20 should "not favor some countries at the expense of others," he stressed.
The summit's critical agenda includes establishing a guideline on limiting current account balances and the controversy on the recent U.S. move to print more money. Host South Korea hopes the summit will draw commitments to support developing nations, with its status changed to a donor of foreign aid from a recipient last year.
Korea's hosting of the summit "is a recognition of the significant level of economic development attained by your country," the pope said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
