Bishops’ statement on Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

20 Jun 2012

Bishops’ statement on Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

As the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development takes place in Brazil over today and tomorrow, Irish Catholic bishops emphasised the need for world leaders to re-examine the current understanding of economic growth.

As Pope Benedict XVI has proposed in his 2009 Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate: “It is true that growth has taken place, and it continues to be a positive factor that has lifted billions of people out of misery — recently it has given many countries the possibility of becoming effective players in international politics. Yet it must be acknowledged that this same economic growth has been and continues to be weighed down by malfunctions and dramatic problems, highlighted even further by the current crisis.”

Bishops expressed the hope that this summit would result in progress towards the development of a new model of economic growth which will address growing problems of inequality and resulting injustice and instability, founded on respect for the dignity of every human person, in right relations with one another and with the natural environment.

ENDS

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444