Pontiff Urges Recovery of Values to Battle Hunger

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that the fight against world hunger calls for the recovery of the genuine values of agricultural work, with the human person as the protagonist.
The Pope stressed the importance of the family and of solidarity in his message to Jacques Diouf, director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on the occasion of World Food Day 2006, observed last Monday.

Commenting on the theme chosen for this year’s Food Day, “Investing in Agriculture for Food Security,” the Holy Father said that it “invites us to reflect on the various factors that hinder the fight against hunger, many of them man-made.”

“Not enough attention is given to the needs of agriculture, and this both upsets the natural order of creation and compromises respect for human dignity,” the Pontiff wrote.

The message remembers in particular “those who have had to abandon their farmlands because of conflicts, natural disasters and society’s neglect of the agricultural sector.”

“Solidarity is the key to identifying and eliminating the causes of poverty and underdevelopment,” Benedict XVI stressed. “Very often, international action to combat hunger ignores the human factor, and priority is given instead to technical and socioeconomic aspects.

“Local communities need to be involved in choices and decisions concerning land use, since farmland is being diverted increasingly to other purposes, often with damaging effects on the environment and the long-term viability of the land.”

Long-term

The Pope continued: “If the human person is treated as the protagonist, it becomes clear that short-term economic gains must be placed within the context of better long-term planning for food security, with regard to both quantity and quality.

“The order of creation demands that priority be given to those human activities that do not cause irreversible damage to nature, but which instead are woven into the social, cultural and religious fabric of the different communities.”

“The rural family needs to regain its rightful place at the heart of the social order,” the Holy Father contended. “The moral principles and values which govern it belong to the heritage of humanity, and must take priority over legislation.”

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