wfn.org | World Methodist Council calls for debt forgiveness

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 24, 1999	News media contact: Tim Tanton (615) 742-5470 *Nashville,
Tenn.    10-21-31-32-71B{488}

NOTE:  A complete text of the Jubilee 2000 resolutions follows the end of
this story.

By Tim Tanton*

HONG KONG (UMNS) - The World Methodist Council has added its voice to those
demanding debt forgiveness for impoverished countries as the new millennium
approaches.

The council's executive committee adopted a resolution Sept. 23 stating that
it views "with alarm the reality that the world will enter the new
millennium with so many of God's people living in absolute poverty."

"It is our considered view that the cancellation of debt will promote the
goals of poverty reduction, sustainable development and reinforce incentives
for reform," the committee stated.

The resolution was adopted in support of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, a
worldwide effort aimed at getting the rich nations and financial
institutions to forgive the debts of poor countries, primarily located in
the Southern Hemisphere. The measure was presented during the committee's
Sept. 20-24 meeting by the council's social and international affairs
committee, headed by the Rev. Cathy Cooper Bird of London. 

The executive committee also approved a resolution committing the World
Methodist Council's members to collect signatures from their churches in
support of Jubilee 2000. The signatures will be sent to the council's social
and international affairs committee by June 30 and forwarded to the Jubilee
2000 headquarters in Britain. The number of signatures also will be reported
at the World Methodist Conference in Brighton, England, in 2001. 

Supporting the campaign is a "moral imperative," said the Rev. Matthew
Watley of West Orange, N.J. He had proposed the resolution on collecting the
signatures, saying the council should go beyond simply adopting the
statement in support of Jubilee 2000. Collecting the signatures and
reporting on them in Brighton will give the council accountability and a way
to measure the success of its work, said Watley, a member of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.

Jubilee 2000 is drawing strong support from church groups and other
organizations. The World Council of Churches, for example, adopted a
resolution calling for debt forgiveness during its Eighth Assembly in
Harare, Zimbabwe, last December.

The Jubilee 2000 effort is based on the biblical concept of jubilee, through
which God ordered the Israelites to forgive debts, free slaves, return
property and take other measures every 50 years. Forgiving the debts of the
world's impoverished countries is necessary in order for those nations to
emerge from poverty and provide for such basic needs as clean water and
sanitation, schools and health care, according to Jubilee 2000. In addition
to pushing for debt forgiveness, Jubilee 2000 also is demanding that the
countries receiving debt relief apply their freed-up resources to those
critical needs.

When the leaders of the G-8 nations met in Cologne, Germany, this year, they
were presented with petitions bearing some 15 million signatures in support
of Jubilee 2000. Although the G-8 decided to cancel up to $100 billion in
debt, that is still only one-fourth of the debt burden of the poorest
countries, Bird said. "It's a drop in the ocean, if you want to put it that
way."

United Methodist Bishop Walter Klaiber of Frankfurt, Germany, expressed
thanks to the British and Irish Methodists who demonstrated in favor of
Jubilee 2000 in Cologne. 

"This was very powerful for us, even though we did not reach what we
wanted," he said.

Speakers were critical of the lack of support for Jubilee 2000 in the United
States. Bird noted that countries in Africa and Latin America have shown
strong support, and that Jubilee 2000 drew about 2 million signatures in
Peru alone. In the United States, however, only 60,000 signatures have been
obtained.

Today, with roughly 100 days remaining to the year 2000, Bird said the
Jubilee 2000 campaign should be high on the agendas of the council's
churches at the national level.

The social and international affairs committee handed out resource packets
for the council's bishops and other church leaders to take back home.

During a break in the committee meeting, United Methodist Bishop Joseph C.
Humper of Sierra Leone said he was looking forward to seeing the debt
cancellation effort go through. "It is a very important move by the world
body," he said. At the same time, he said, it is important that the 
governments of the poor countries use that debt relief "for the welfare of
the masses."

Klaiber noted the resolution's reference to entering the new millennium, and
he commented that mathematicians say the millennium won't actually begin
until 2001. That's all right, he said, quipping that it's good for
Christians to be ahead of the times.
# # #

*Tanton is news editor for United Methodist News Service.

A complete text of the Jubilee 2000 resolution follows:

WMC Executive Committee
Hong Kong
September 23, 1999
Social and International Affairs Committee Report

Resolution:
That the following statement of support of Jubilee 2000 be sent from the
Executive Committee of the WMC to Jubilee 2000 and Methodist press:

"Today, the 23rd September, is 100 days before New Year's Eve. The Executive
Committee of the World Methodist Council views with alarm the reality that
the world will enter the new millennium with so many of God's people living
in absolute poverty. It is our considered view that the cancellation of debt
will promote the goals of poverty reduction, sustainable development and
reinforce incentives for reform. We continue to offer our support to the
Jubilee 2000 campaign as it seeks the cancellation of all unpayable debt by
countries of the South by the end of the year 2000. We note with concern
that the Cologne Initiative has failed to meet the challenge of justice
posed by Jubilee. In 100 days time, we will find ourselves 2000 years from
the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What better way
could there be to celebrate and to commit ourselves anew to his way of love
and justice than with an act that would bring new life in the here and now
to a large proportion of the world's population. We commit ourselves to
strengthening the various tools and instruments of democratic governance and
will continue to support and cooperate with member churches, ecumenical
organizations and 
social movements in the quest for just and sustainable alternatives."

# # #

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