Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

Press release No. 08-55/e

Geneva, 13 October 2008

CEC Central Committee expresses concern for financial and economic crisis
The need to protect most vulnerable citizens was underlined

The Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), meeting in Paralimni, Cyprus from 6-11 October, reflected on the current financial and economic crisis, urging “governments to be most concerned about protecting the most vulnerable of citizens and that a sense of justice will prevail”.

“The present crisis has made it very evident that the financial economy has become increasingly distant from the economy of goods and services”, the Central Committee underlined. “We support the calls of those who insist on restoring the interdependency of the financial and the ‘real’ economies” and on the need for “transparency and better control of the financial market”.

“Millions of people have already suffered from the recent economic problem”, the document states. “Many others are concerned that their investments and retirement funds are shrinking rapidly. They are worried that the bottom line is going to fall out of the system and people are going to lose their homes. As the Conference of European Churches we urge governments to be most concerned about protecting the most vulnerable of citizens and that a sense of justice will prevail. We welcome the decisions of state authorities aimed at protecting citizens, we urge the governments and the international community to express a more strategic approach, looking courageously into the root causes of the crisis. We suggest that this should lead to a serious reconsideration of the rules of world financial economy. A new commitment is also needed to a search for more just trading arrangements between rich and poor countries. The level of indebtedness held by institutions and individuals is a huge cause of concern and in this regard there is a need to re-evaluate the role and place of money in society. In the light of this financial crisis, we urge governments not to renege on commitments made to cancel the debts of the most indebted countries, highlighted during the Jubilee 2000 campaign”.

Noting that churches have already been active in dialogue with governments and financial institutions on the situation in financial economy, CEC called “churches to develop profound studies of the contemporary economy and its ethical dimension”.

Please see the full text of the statement.

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

For more information:
Luca Negro
CEC Secretary for Communications and Information
Mobile +41 78 870 81 17
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail: Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org