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VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has urged G-8 leaders meeting in Italy next week to rewrite global financial rules and defend the world's poor from the effects of the economic downturn, the Vatican said Saturday.
In a letter to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who will chair the summit, Benedict appealed to leaders to "listen to the voice of Africa and of the countries that are less developed economically."
Benedict said the economic crisis means there is a "real risk not only that hopes to emerge from extreme poverty will be dashed, but that populations that so far have benefited from a minimum of material well-being will fall into poverty."
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