Bertone slams IMF and World Bank’s “usury”

In a lengthy interview with the Italian magazine 30 Giorni (30 Days), published on August 9, 2006, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then Archbishop of Genoa, but who was appointed secretary of state of the Vatican on September 15, described World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans to developing countries as "usury"; saying that he considered international lending by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and by richer countries a form of usury that "should be declared illegal."

He said loans become usury when they violate the right to life and other basic human rights. "Some technocrats, especially those of multinationals, the World Bank and the (International) Monetary Fund, have imposed unacceptable conditions on the poor populations, like forced sterilization and the obligatory closing of Catholic schools," he said. He added that the Church's social teaching calls for a "popular democratic capitalism" that benefits the greatest number of people and that favors economic creativity and healthy competition.