WCC urges Davos Forum to consider longer-term good of all people

By Vatican News

The World Council of Churches is one of the many voices around the globe urging the the 54th World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland,  to commit to  the longer-term good of all people.

The annual gathering bringing together leaders from government, business and civil society to discuss and shape global, regional, and industry agenda will conclude on Friday, 19 January after four days of discussions focused on the theme  “Rebuilding Trust” as the world faces multiple crises.  

Without trust world cannot function

In a statement this week WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay noted that trust is the essential ingredient without which human societies—and the global community—cannot function. “However, in today’s divided and increasingly conflictual world, it is a commodity in critically short supply,” he said. “While some of those in attendance in Davos are themselves drivers of inequality, injustice, and division, we want to believe that many others are genuinely committed to exercising their considerable influence to promote a greater measure of justice and peace in the world.”

The  General Secretary of WCC  remarked that rebuilding trust,   will be an essential precondition for progress in any of the four areas discussed during the Forum: ‘Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World’, ‘Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era,’ ‘Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society,’ and ‘A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature, and Energy.’

Urgent need for multilateral cooperation to address current world crises

“Given the unprecedented constellation of global crises – especially of climate, conflict, and economic inequality – there is an urgent need for cooperation and action, rather than division and unconstructive competition,” he stressed.

Hence the urgent need for a renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation to address the current epochal crises “The power of this gathering must be leveraged for rebuilding trust and the renewal of commitment to multilateral cooperation in facing these crises, not only in the short-term interests of a privileged few but for the longer-term good of all people and our common home," the WCC General Secretary said.

Pope Francis, on Wednesday, addressed a message to the world leaders in Davos along  the same lines,  calling on them “to  be mindful of the moral responsibility that each of us has in the fight against poverty, the attainment of an integral development for all our brothers and sisters, and the quest for a peaceful coexistence among peoples.”