"The increasing concentration of wealth in our world, while so many suffer, is a scandal that impoverishes us all," the religious leaders from Anglican, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions said in a statement sent to the 14 to16 September UN meeting.

The statement - which also has support from some Jewish and Muslim leaders - was agreed at a consultation of some 30 religious leaders, held at the Washington DC National Cathedral from 11 to 13 September.

"It is indeed an outrage that so many people seem condemned to poverty," said one of the participants, the Rev. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the Geneva-based World Alliance of Reformed Churches. "Churches have reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen our resolve to be critical partners with governments, ensuring the voices of the poor are heard, and that global poverty is addressed from its roots."

The religious leaders in their statement call on national leaders to live up to their responsibilities to cut the rate of extreme global poverty by 2015, an aim of the Millennium Development Goals agreed by the UN in 2000. They also seek a partnership between governments and religious institutions on development problems.

"If the global church can't speak on the moral imperative [of fighting poverty], who can?" said Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the World Evangelical Alliance of Canada.
 
The Rev. Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, said: "Those who have reaped the benefits of globalisation are increasingly afflicted by what has been called 'affluenza'. This condition distorts the values of life in fundamental ways, often leading to relativisation of human dignity." 
 
At an 11 September event at the Washington cathedral, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and others decried recent suggestions by John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, that the United States wants to downplay the importance of the Millennium goals.