Apostolic Journey
As you may have heard, Pope Benedict XVI is in the U.S. to visit Washington D.C. and New York City as part of his first apostolic journey to the U.S.
ONE has always had strong support from the faith community–the Jubilee debt relief campaign, which was ONE’s forerunner in many respects, had the endorsement of Pope John Paul II–and it continues to reach out with ONE Sabbath.
The last time I checked the Catholic Church ran about 25% of the AIDS clinics in the world. The percentage probably isn’t quite so high anymore due to the expansion of PEPFAR, but the point is clear: the Church has great concern about poverty and development. Many people have high hopes that the Pope will address these issues in his homilies (sermons during mass) and with President Bush.
But his influence is already making an impact. Earlier today Hillary Clinton released a press release saying:
“I hope that his message about economic justice and global development will get an appropriate hearing both in our country and in the government.”
The full statement is available here. Here’s to hoping the other candidates join in the call for global development and make stronger commitments to taking action as president.
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