Rather than be satisfied with some progress, the Holy See wishes to assist efforts to actually eliminate hunger and malnutrition.
Pope Francis stressed this in a message he sent to the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the occasion of their 40th General Conference today, July 3, 2017.
The letter was sent on the Pope’s behalf by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
In the message, the Pope stressed: “The Holy See closely follows the work of the international community and wishes to assist its efforts to promote not mere progress or development goals in theory, but rather the actual elimination of hunger and malnutrition.”
“All of us realize that the intention to provide everyone with his or her daily bread is not enough. Rather,” he continued, “there is a need to recognize that all have a right to it and they must therefore benefit from it.”
The Pope warned against these goals remaining distant and called for a culture of solidarity.
“What those goals demand,” he noted, “is a constant acknowledgment that the right of every person to be free of poverty and hunger depends on the duty of the entire human family to provide practical assistance to those in need.”
“Since the goods that God the Creator has entrusted to us are meant for all, the Holy Father reminded, “there is an urgent need for solidarity to be the criterion inspiring all forms of cooperation in international relations.”
Pope Francis concluded, blessing them and thanking them for their service.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-message-to-uns-food-and-agriculture-organization-fao/
