Puerto Rico's religious leaders call for federal debt intervention

National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee

 An ecumenical coalition of Puerto Rico's religious leaders -- including nearly all of the island's Catholic bishops -- issued a joint call Monday for the U.S. Federal Reserve to step in and restructure the U.S. territory's some $72 billion debt to prevent possibly calamitous austerity measures.

Eighteen religious leaders -- including five Catholic bishops and the heads of Pentecostal, Methodist, Lutheran and Evangelical churches -- issued the call, citing the biblical notion of Jubilee.

The leaders say that if Congress does not extend bankruptcy protection to the island, which because of its status as an unincorporated U.S. territory cannot file for bankruptcy relief under the normal process like U.S. states or cities, the Fed should use its power to step in and "ensure debt relief without harmful conditions."

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