Addressing the debt and development crises in countries from the South in the year of the Jubilee

Overview:

His Holiness Pope Francis addressed the participants of the meeting with a speech on the debt crisis in the Global South. The discussions were chaired by the PASS President Helen Alford, PASS Academicians Professor Martin Guzman from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz from Columbia University, and the PASS Chancellor, Cardinal Peter Turkson.

Summary of discussion:

• There is a debt and development crisis in many countries in the Southern Hemisphere. The prevailing view that if a country does not default there is not a debt crisis is flawed: debt distressed countries are defaulting on economic development as they prioritize debt payments over critical public investments in education, health, the environment (including those necessary to mitigate and adapt to climate change) and infrastructure, jeopardizing the development and wellbeing of their people. Current debt and economic policies in many debt-distressed countries are serving financial interests rather than people.

As is usual for the PASS, the conference produced a Final Statement, attached to this page as a downloadable PDF.