POPE Benedict XVI must be commended for calling on world leaders to try and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
Using his annual New Year’s address at the Vatican, he called on leaders to focus on “the increasing differences between those few who grow ever richer and the many who grow hopelessly poorer.” These are words that resonate not only with Christians but with progressive humanity the world over.  The Pope’s appeal for social justice is consistent with that of Guyana’s former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who was a strong advocate for poverty reduction as embodied in his call for a New Global Human Order which recently gained the endorsement of the United Nations.
The time for action is now and the Pope’s call on world leaders to address the issue of poverty could not be more timely.