British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met this morning during a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the global economic crisis. The Pope reminded the British Prime Minister that it is crucial to continue assisting poor countries, especially now during the recession.
This is the first meeting between the head of the Catholic Church and Gordon Brown since the latter became Prime Minister in 2007, although they had met twice before when Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer. Blair’s successor emphasized that the global crisis has left the deepest impact on the poor countries of the Third World, meaning that millions will remain hungry, without healthcare, and lacking any formal education. Brown, the son of a clergyman, presented the Pope with a collection of sermons written by his father on this occasion. After his conversation with the Pope, the British Prime Minister met with his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi, who noted that world leaders agreed on key principles but are still quite far from resolving the global recession. Finance ministers from the world’s most developed industrial countries or G7 member countries – the USA, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada – met last week in Rome, where they committed to making additional efforts to effectively address the recession without jeopardizing free trade. The G8 member countries meeting, which includes G7 countries and Russia, will take place this July in Sardinia. (T. Vi.)
