Dr. Jo Marie
Griesgraber (right), chair of the Jubilee 2000/USA Executive Committee,
and Jim Russo, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Ann Arbor,
pack up an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 signature cards from Diocese of Lansing
parishioners seeking to have the debt of the world's poorest countries
cancelled.
By Evelyn Barella
The Catholic Times
LANSING — The idea is noble and the issue is complex, however, the Diocese of Lansing has taken the initiative in seeking to have the debt of the world's poorest countries canceled by the year 2000.
During a morning prayer service Oct. 17, 1998 at Common Conference, the biennial meeting of representatives of the diocese's 94 parishes, nearly half of those parishes presented an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 signature cards to Dr. Jo Marie Griesgraber chair of the Jubilee 2000/USA Executive Committee.
The signed cards call on the leaders of the wealthiest countries, inter- national financial institutions and commercial banks to forgive the debt, which proponents of the campaign say places a undue, heavy bur- den on the world's poorest countries.
"There are three things to know about the debt," said Dr. Griesgraber. "This debt is harming real people in very significant ways, it won't cost much to get rid of it. and it's is politically possible."
Dr. Griesgraber said underdeveloped nations don't have a way out of the situation they are in and it is up to the United States government and other wealthy nations to 4“›
In January 1998, the Lansing Diocese initiated the campaign and created awareness among its parishes by distributing packets which provided step-by-step instructions to direct a three-week campaign of education and collection of signatures.
More than 40 parishes completed the collection of signatures to present to Dr. Griesgraber at Common Conference who will then turn the cards over to officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington.
"You are leading the way in terms of visibility with the distribution of the education packet," Dr. Griesgraber said. "I don t know of any other diocese in the nation who has taken such an initiative except the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who has launched a major campaign and possibly the Diocese of Pittsburgh."
Dr. Griesgraber said the collection of signatures in Lansing was videotaped and she plans to share the video with Bread for the World organizers, a non-Catholic group also committed to forgiving the debt.
She said leaders of the World Bank Group and the IMF are scheduled to meet at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., this week. Participants are said to include World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus who are scheduled to speak at the two-day, church-sponsored "Conference on the Ethical Dimensions of International Debt," Oct. 22—23.
The invitation-only conference is co-sponsored by the university, the Vatican s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the U.S. Catholic Conference. The intention is to promote candid discussions that may lead to new ways of thinking about debt.
Dr. Griesgraber said if the United States takes a leadership role and contributes to the trust fund, other countries will do the same. "With other countries following, it will get rid of the debt."