CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 03:10 am
Catholic bishops have urged the U.K.'s finance minister to press for the cancelation of debts owed by the world's poorest countries at this weekend's G20 finance summit.
The bishops signed a letter, dated July 10, from 77 religious leaders calling on the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to help "to cancel, rather than merely suspend, bilateral debt payments" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter applauded Sunak for helping to secure an agreement to freeze the debt service payments of 77 countries at a G20 finance ministers' meeting in April.
"We now ask you to work with your fellow finance ministers at this month's G20 meeting to cancel, rather than merely suspend, bilateral debt payments, as well as to urge the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and private creditors to cancel debt payments owed in 2020 and 2021 by these countries," it said.