The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Dec. 4 that it will review a lower court decision blocking Puerto Rico from restructuring portions of its debt. Puerto Rico’s lawyers had urged the court to take immediate action in light of the overall magnitude of the commonwealth’s debts, around $72 billion, which it says it cannot pay. In a letter to Congress on Dec. 1, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami urged a legislative response to the problem. He said, “The people of Puerto Rico are suffering from painful poverty and hunger, persistent joblessness, and other social problems, as a result of the financial crisis gripping the Commonwealth’s economy.” He added, “They bear little responsibility for the situation yet suffer most of the consequences.” Over 45 percent of the Puerto Rican population live in poverty. Archbishop Wenski urged Congress to advance the Puerto Rico Chapter 9 Uniformity Act. That bill would give the Puerto Rican government the same bankruptcy protections afforded to American cities.
Debt Review
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
More than 200 Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of San Diego, and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, have called on President Biden to push for a cease-fire.
Some of the “made in the U.S.A.” bombs Israel Defense Forces are dropping over Gaza include 2,000-pound bombs that have been responsible for some of the most devastating—and questionable—strikes of the months-long campaign against Hamas.
Many Jesuits schools have recently been sites of passionate protest, peaceful activism and regrettably some incidents of anti-Semitism.
Directly ending human life—at any stage—tears the metaphysical tapestry of existence.