What role do you perceive faith-based organizations to play in not only mitigating the impact of extreme poverty, but also in the construction of a more just economy with the human person and human dignity at its core?
Statement of H.E. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Apostolic Nuncio
and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
and Other International Organizations in Geneva
at the 56th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur
on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
Geneva, 3 July 2024
Mr. President,
My Delegation welcomes the opportunity to engage with the Special Rapporteur today on his thematic Report entitled ‘Eradicating poverty beyond growth’. The Report challenges the model based solely on economic growth, increasing GDP, and profit maximization, arguing that it is “a distraction from what truly matters, namely: poverty eradication and well-being for all”.[1]
In this regard, Pope Francis observes that “some economic rules have proved effective for growth, but not for integral human development. Wealth has increased, but together with inequality, with the result that ‘new forms of poverty are emerging’. The claim that the modern world has reduced poverty is made by measuring poverty with criteria from the past that do not correspond to present-day realities.”[2]
Nevertheless, there are those who continue to espouse the theory of trickle-down economics which assumes that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably result in greater social justice.[3] This is however not the case: the excluded continue to wait.
Mr. President,
It is imperative that the economy is not solely focused on growth. In 1967, Pope Paul VI commented that “development […] cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be well-rounded; it must foster the development of each man and of the whole man.”[4] This integral vision of growth encompasses inter alia the right to life, bodily integrity, and the reassures necessary for the proper development of life, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, rest, and finally, the necessary social services. “How much still needs to be done for this to become a reality, not least through a serious and effective commitment on the part of political leaders and legislators.”[5]
Mr. Rapporteur,
What role do you perceive faith-based organizations to play in not only mitigating the impact of extreme poverty, but also in the construction of a more just economy with the human person and human dignity at its core?