05645
Dec. 5, 2005

Religious leaders press administration
to support fair-trade policies, foreign aid

PC(USA) stated clerk joins in
meeting with Secretary of State

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), joined a dozen other Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders urging President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to enact fair-trade policies and expand development aid to poor nations.

        The Dec. 1 meetings in Washington came less than two weeks before the next meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong.

        “The fight against poverty around the world is vital to establishing solidarity among peoples and nations,” Theodore E. McCarrick, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, told The Christian Post after a private meeting with the president at the White House.

        Later, the delegation that included Kirkpatrick met with Rice at the State Department. They said during a press conference after the meeting that they were approaching the fair-trade and poverty issues from a spiritual perspective.

        “For us, at the heart, this is a religious and spiritual issue,” Kirkpatrick said. “We shared that with the secretary, and were delighted to hear her concerns as well — and encouraged her to be bold.”

        The group pressed two proposals on Bush and Rice: the elimination of agricultural subsidies that they said harm farmers in the United States and abroad; and a $5 billion increase in development aid to poor nations for fiscal 2007.

         The religious leaders praised Bush’s proposals for changes in farm subsidies.