(OSV News) -- Presidents of Catholic bishops' conferences of the G7 member states called on heads of state and government to root governance in human dignity, as national leaders prepare for the G7 Summit.
"Amid armed conflict, geopolitical fragmentation, the crisis of multilateralism, growing inequalities, climate disruption and accelerating technological change, we affirm that the dignity of the human person must remain the foundation of political and economic governance," they said in a joint statement issued June 12.
The appeal was signed by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as the presidents of the Catholic bishops' conferences of Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan, and the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union.
Titled "Building Bridges for Peace, Justice and Human Dignity," the 1,300-word statement was issued ahead of the June 15-17 G7 Summit in France. The annual meeting brings together leaders of industrialized democracies to address pressing transnational challenges and coordinate global economic policy.
"The G7 bears a particular responsibility for the global common good," the Church leaders said. "The decisions taken by member states have direct consequences for peoples, for international stability, and for the future of younger generations."
The bishops' conference presidents called G7 member states to four commitments: reaffirming multilateralism and the primacy of international law, placing the human person at the heart of development and international solidarity, protecting children and young people in the digital age, and assuming a shared responsibility towards creation and displaced peoples.
Calling their statement "a united message to the Heads of State and Government, inspired by the Gospel and by the social teaching of the Church," the Church leaders said they hoped to put the Church's "capacity for dialogue, mediation, and accompaniment for the most vulnerable at the service of peace and the international community."
The message directed the heads of state to Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas," in their call for nation leaders and technology companies "to establish clear international rules" so "new technologies" such as artificial intelligence "serve the human person and the common good." They quoted "Magnifica Humanitas" on "disarming AI," which the encyclical said "means discrediting the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern."
In addition to Archbishop Coakley, the signing bishops conference presidents were: Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, president of the French Bishops' Conference; Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan; Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, president of the Italian Bishops' Conference; Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales; Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, president of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland; and Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim, president of the German Bishops' Conference.
Also signing in a show of support was Bishop Mariano Crociata of Latina, Italy, the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union.
The G7 includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
