Human dignity is not respected and vulnerable human life is endangered on a global scale, because of economic disparities within nations and between them. A continuing theme in Catholic social teaching has been the common good. This refers to the whole of society being organized through its social, political and economic institutions in order that all individuals, families and communities are given the opportunity to flourish and seek their own good. This traditional understanding of the common good needs to be expanded to include sustainable and socially equitable growth in all regions of the globe. To continue to extract as much as we can from the world's poorest countries will lead to the moral bankruptcy of our own society.
Poverty is the result of human choices, values and priorities.
The approach of the new millennium presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to provide hope and meaning to the lives of the impoverished people of the world. Debt relief would be a new start for a new millennium. Senator Douglas Roche sits as an Independent in the Senate of Canada. He was also special advisor to the Holy See's Delegation to the UN Assembly and is President of Global Security Consultants. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, has served as an elected member of the House of Commons, is an author and a former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament.