Forgive us our debts

An open letter to Warc member churches in the G8 nations

Geneva, June 8 1999

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Eight days hence, in Cologne, Germany, the G8 nations will be deciding upon the future of the world's developing countries in relation to debt: how much each owes to whom and how each should pay it back. In 1997, the Warc general council at Debrecen called for a confessing process (processus confessionis) on the subject of economic globalization which involves, among other factors, the increasing debt incurred by these developing nations. The year 2000, the year of jubilee, is nearly upon us. God mandates that year to be one of restoration and renewal. It is the year of the Lord's favour when the blind see, the captives are released, the hungry are fed, the land is restored and debts are cancelled. How shall we witness to that year so that renewal becomes reality for these nations?

Today, fifty of the world's poorest nations are in debt for approximately 265 billion dollars, mostly to public banks. For northern economies, this figure is equivalent to how much is traded on international markets every three to four hours. Discounted by 90%, the total due by these nations would come to between 26 and 30 billion dollars, an almost trivial amount compared with the profits earned by multinational corporations in any given year.

Yet, these nations cannot pay the interest, much less the principle. Indeed, only if they cannot pay may they borrow; thus, they are caught up in cycles of indebtedness from which they cannot escape. Is this God's justice? For instance, the media recently reported that a manufacturer of luxury goods had gone out of business in 1993; due to bankruptcy laws, however, the firm was able to emerge from its difficulties and is now thriving. But nations whose children starve, whose citizens cannot get work and yet bear the burden for the debts incurred by their governments are not entitled to the same protection from total ruin as a corporation!

What can Christians do to balance the scales, to ensure that children have at least the same chance to live as a corporation has a chance to make profits? What can your churches do to proclaim the year of the Lord on this issue of debt? Concretely, I suggest that we:

• encourage congregations to read and reflect upon what Scripture tells us about interest and debt, both of perennial concern to God: Lev 25.47-53; Deut 15.1-3; Ezek 18.10-13 and 22.12-14; Neh 10.31; Prov 22.27; Mt 6.9-13 and 18.23-35; Lk 4.16-23;
• educate congregations on relationships between the World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and the debt practices of borrowing nations;
• support international efforts to reduce or cancel the international debt incurred by the poorest nations;
• appeal to your governments to cancel or reduce the debt and to work towards establishing international bankruptcy procedures and legislative instruments that would protect citizens in the poorest nations from liability incurred by their governments, a liability to which most of these citizens have never given any consent;
• pray that your leaders have the courage to do the "unnatural" thing and obey the law of God rather than the laws of supply and demand.

Every Sunday, Christians the world over pray, "give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." As we forgive our debtors, so God mercifully forgives us. This is the moment, dear friends, to turn prayer into action.

Sincerely yours,

Dr Milan Opocensky, general secretary