wfn.org | Debt forgiveness vital to impoverished countries, church leaders

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Dec. 8, 1998	Contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
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NOTE:  Head-and-shoulders photos of Bishop Grove and Bishop Kulah are
available.

By Tim Tanton*

HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - The World Council of Churches is expected to
call for debt relief for impoverished countries during its assembly in
this third-world capital city.

Clergy members and Zimbabwean leaders have used the WCC's jubilee
celebration to plead for relief from the debt burdens that are crushing
poor countries.

The biblical mandate for jubilee was invoked several times and used as a
text in the Dec. 3 opening worship. The book of Leviticus describes
God's orders to the Israelites for the freeing of slaves, the return of
ancestral lands and the forgiveness of debts on the year of the jubilee,
which occurs each half-century.

Poverty is growing at a "rate of incredible proportions," said the Rev.
Eunice Santana, a WCC president and member of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico. Delivering the sermon at the
assembly's opening worship service, Santana noted that "God has plenty
for all humanity," but said the world's resources are poorly
distributed. She made a stirring call for forgiving the debts of poor
countries, which have been exploited throughout history.

"The debt has even been paid in blood," she declared. "All of a sudden,
there are very good accounting records," but what about all those
centuries when there were no records, when so much was paid? she asked.

The Rev. Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary, told reporters that an
action would be proposed to the assembly for the cancellation of debt
for the poorest countries, including many in Africa. The council also
will propose that mechanisms of relating lenders to borrowers must be
reworked because the fault lies not just with the borrowers, he said.

United Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove, who is chairman of the
United Methodist delegation, noted that the denomination's Council of
Bishops and the World Methodist Council's executive committee have
already voiced support for debt forgiveness and he expects similar
action by the assembly.

"I would hope that there would be a cancellation of the debt, or at
least the interest," he told United Methodist News Service.

In many cases, the debts resulted from loans made to dictators and used
inappropriately, for military purposes and not for the benefit of the
people, according to Grove. Much of that occurred during the Cold War,
when the United States and other countries were propping up
anti-Communist regimes, he said.

The terms and conditions of the loans to African countries were set a
long time ago, and the borrowers didn't know what they were getting
into, said Bishop Arthur F. Kulah, leader of the United Methodist Church
of Liberia.

As a result of the debt burden, African countries are getting poorer and
poorer, he said in an interview. They are spending enormous amounts of
money on debt servicing and are not able to buy things, the bishop
explained, adding that it is in the interest of Western countries for
Africans to be able to buy goods from abroad.

A call from the WCC for debt forgiveness would be a forceful and
decisive message. "It's the whole world speaking to the West," Kulah
said. Forgiving the debt would help stabilize Africa, and "the African
leaders would be in a position to do more for their people."

In her sermon, Santana described in moving detail the plight of the
world's poor, many of whom live on less than a dollar day or eke out
their lives in communities built around garbage dumps. Poor countries
also have suffered the greatest damage from human-caused ills, such as
environmental problems. 

In welcoming remarks to the assembly on Dec. 3, Zimbabwe Acting
President Simon Muzenda and the Rev. Enos Chomutiri, president of the
Zimbabwe Council of Churches, underscored the need for debt relief.

Muzenda repeatedly cited Leviticus and the book of Joel, and he also
tied in the jubilee theme with the government's plans for land
redistribution, which has been a controversial issue in Zimbabwe. 

"All we are asking for from the World Council of Churches is recognition
of the justice and biblical authority of our claims to repossess the
lands taken from us during the years of colonialism ... and assistance
from our brothers and sisters in Christ to restore our rightful
possession of the land of our forefathers.

"If words are not deeds, they're dead," he said. The churches have had a
long history of caring and mission work in Zimbabwe, he said, and he
thanked the WCC for its support during the liberation movement that led
to the current government in 1980.

Muzenda said the country's efforts at reform haven't been without
problems, and scarce national resources have been diverted to debt
servicing instead of providing for basic services. He was glad the WCC
has put the debt cancellation issue high on its agenda, he said.

He also urged the churches to work with government in addressing the
AIDS pandemic, which is "wreaking havoc in our societies."

# # #

*Tanton is news editor of United Methodist News Service.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/