By Jessie Abrams
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic bishops in the Group of Eight industrialized countries have urged their nations’ leaders to remember the poor and address the issue of global climate change during the upcoming G-8 summit.

Leaders from eight of the globe’s wealthiest countries, including Pre-sident Barack Obama of the United States, will convene in Italy July 8-10.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is among the bishops signing a letter to the G-8 leaders.

The Catholic leaders, who head the bishops’ conferen-ces in their respective countries, made the request in a June 22 letter.

They re-minded government leaders of one of the main priorities of the Catholic Church: to protect human life and dignity.

“In the faces of poor persons, the Catholic Church sees the face of Christ whom we serve in countries throughout the world,” they wrote.

The economic crisis enveloping the world today is not the fault of the poor, said the bishops.

They urged the G-8 nations to meet their “responsibility” to protect the world from another economic crisis and to bolster efforts to reduce poverty.

The “lives and livelihoods” of the poor “are likely to suffer the greatest devastation because they struggle at the margins in crushing poverty,” they said. “In light of this fact, the G-8 nations should meet their responsibility to promote dialogue with other powerful economies to help prevent further economic crises.”

The bishops pointed especially to warring countries throughout Africa as areas in need of extra attention.

In addition to concerns of global poverty, the bishops called on the G-8 countries to help poorer nations deal with the impacts of climate change.

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