Sr. Terry Shields, MSHR Regional Leader, U.S. Region Presently she is an Executive Director and Board Member of Dawn's Place; a residence for women trafficked for commercial sex exploitation.    READ MORE ABOUT THIS MINISTRY...

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

     On April 4th, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Cardinal Migliore, affirmed, in an address to the U.N. General Assembly, that many of the problems the Millennium Development Goals aim to alleviate, are still rampant.  What are these Goals and why is the Church concerned and why should we, the church, be?

     In 2000, the Heads of State gathered at the U.N. including the U.S., agreed on a set of global development goals.  These goals were perceived to be achievable by 2015.  They are as follows:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
   Targets: Reduce by half the number of people living on less than a dollar a day
   Reduce by half the number of people who suffer from hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
   Target: Ensure that all children complete a full course of primary education
3. Promote Gender equality and empower women
   Target: Eliminate gender disparity in education
4. Reduce child mortality
   Target: Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five
5. Improve maternal health
   Target: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
   Targets: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
   Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
   Targets: Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies
   and programs: reverse the loss of environmental resources
   Reduce by half the people without sustainable access to safe drinking
   water and basis sanitation
8. Develop a global partnership for development
   Targets: Develop trading and financial system, rule based and fair.
   Address least-developed countries, landlocked and small-island
   developing state's special needs. Deal with developing countries'
   debt problems. Develop decent and productive work for youth.
   Provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries.
   Make available the benefits of new technology

     Cardinal Migliore went on to say, “"At the heart of the Millennium Development Goals is the goal of a better future for all.  More than talks and summits, the achievement of this goal requires commitment and concrete action.  Our common fight against extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and illness is not merely an act of generosity and altruism: it is a ‘'conditio sine qua non’' for a better future and a better world, fit for all.”

      It behooves us then to search out the ways that we can play our part to accomplish what the world leaders know to be in the best interest, not just for the poor but for all humanity, and what we Christians know to be consistent with Catholic Social Teaching."   

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