Vatican City, 4 May 2007 – A group of Prelates were received today by Pope Benedict XVI as part of a campaign to ensure that development remains high on the agenda of the G8 Summit in Germany this June.

The Pope welcomed their engagement for the world's poor and for social justice worldwide and encouraged them to continue campaigning for the welfare of all human beings all over the world.

Cardinal Rodriguez said, "The Pope urged the German Chancellor Merkel to put poverty at the heart of the 2007 G8 summit, and we welcome this initiative. We cannot accept that poor people perish every day because they lack shelter, basic medicines and safe drinking water. The world does have the means to eliminate poverty."

Over 50,000 citizens across the world have supported the MAKE AID WORK campaign so far.

Duncan MacLaren, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, said, "Every three seconds a child dies needlessly because of poverty. Unless the G8 leaders use their three day summit in Heiligendamm to reverse the backsliding on aid, that scandal will continue."

The delegation is part of the international Catholic campaign 'MAKE AID WORK. THE WORLD CAN'T WAIT', coordinated by CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis. The campaign calls on governments in rich and poor countries to ensure development aid makes a difference for the poor. Earlier this week, the delegation met UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minster Romano Prodi of Italy.

In a statement, the delegation expressed their disappointment by the lack of progress on the part of the G8 countries. They said that they expect world leaders to assume responsibility for promoting human development and global solidarity. They explicitly called for continued efforts to resolve the longstanding crisis of sovereign debt in a sustainable and just way; for coordinated measures against corruption; and for promises to increase development aid to be kept.

Contact:
For more information, contact: Nancy McNally, Tel: +39 06 69879752, Mobile: +39 334 2344 136 mcnally@caritas.va or visit www.caritas.org

Notes to the editor:

CIDSE is an alliance of 15 catholic development organizations from Europe and North America (www.cidse.org). CIDSE is based in Brussels.

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations working to build a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed, in over 200 countries and territories. Learn more about Caritas Internationalis on www.caritas.org.

The delegation included Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga (Honduras), Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien (UK), Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (Nigeria), Archbishop Vincent Michael Concessao (India), Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (DR Congo), Archbishop Werner Thissen (Germany), Bishop Frank J. Dewane (US), Bishop Arrigo Miglio (Italy) and Bishop Marc Stenger (France). They were accompanied by representatives of CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis.

The statement "Taking Responsibility for Human Development and Global Solidarity" is available at http://www.cidse.org/docs/200705021419551319.pdf

More information about MAKE AID WORK is available at www.make-aid-work.org