In the name of the human family
Editorial
by Giovanni Maria Vian
Translated from
the 11/16-11/17/09 issue of
A clear and realistic denunciation of an intolerable situation: The number of those who suffer from hunger is growing, but no one is really paying attention.
Benedict XVI spoke in these terms to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at a world summit on food security, in an address, for which one may reasonably expect interest and concrete answers, for an authority whom large numbers of people in every part of the planet, even outside the Catholic Church, look to with confidence.
In continuity with the encyclical
Caritas in veritate and with the teaching of his predecessors, the Pope reiterated that the tragedy of poverty - of which "hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign" - is not due to population growth, and that this is objective fact which is denied only for ideological reasons and in the defense of special interests and privileges.
Paul VI had said so in his two sister encyclicals in defense of human life (
Populorum progressio and
Humanae vitae), John Paul II said so many times, and today their successor says so, reinforced by a consensus that is starting to spread even among international organizations.
The Pope's address merits attention because it is realistic. Above all, it challenges civilian authorities and elements of the international community. It does so with a lucid analysis that sees "the weakness of present mechanisms for food security" and suggests changes.
He did so in the name of the Catholic Church - as Paul VI did when, for the first time, a Pope spoke before representatives of all the peoples of the earth - and without presuming to interfere in political choices.
In the name, therefore, of a global reality and a concern to defend every human being. The criterion of "common belonging to the universal human family", Benedict XVI underscored, is the only one required to justify asking "every people, and therefore, every nation, to be fraternal".
it is an appeal to reason which urgently calls for a change in the international agenda and its concrete political choices: to put an end to the scandalous destruction of food surpluses; to modify the mechanisms for international aid and cooperation; to redesign the relationships among nations; to pay attention to the rural world; and to safeguard the environment.
One may well ask if Benedict XVI's lucid and concrete arguments will be heeded, if his words will be taken into consideration. Many will doubtless ignore them - and in this, the role of international media is fundamental - and others will revert to stereotypes about a Church that remains obscurantist in the face of a supposed global over-population.
But it won't be easy for these critics: the Pope has said that the Church "respects the knowledge and the results of science, as it does those choices that are made with reason". It is in the name of reason, as well as faith, that he speaks.
Avvenire's editorial is more concrete:
The courage to dare
for a suffering humanity
Editorial
by Giulio Albanese
Translated from
Nov. 17, 2009
It is really such a shame that yesteray, on the opening day of the FAO summit on world food security, most of the leaders from the so-called First World were absent.
If only because they missed listening directly to Benedict XVI and his truly illuminating lecture on integral human development in the sign of Christian hope.
Indeed, what the Holy Father emphasized, in effect, was that it is useless to continue issuing appeals now and then about the hunger crisis that now affects more than a billion persons, illustrated with cold figures of those who die from hunger and pandemic disease, as though all these deaths were ineluctable.
The Pontiff's statement is very relevant, especially since it is evident that international institutions lack the political will to pay serious attention to such a grave crisis - a very grave one with global consequences - for which the Church Magisterium has not failed to suggest practical measures.
The possibility of conquering hunger in the world - the very reason for which the nth world summit has been convoked in Rome - must begin with a redefinition of the 'concepts' and 'principles' that have till now defined international relationships, particularly those between the world's North and South, the Pope states.
And he referred to his encylical
Caritas in veritate, which states unequivocally that "hunger does not depend so much on material scarcity, as from the lack of social resources, the most important of which are necessarily institutional in nature".
This underscores the lack of economic institutions, sustained by political will, that are able to eliminate the 'structural' causes that generate famine and thus, to promote concrete affirmation of the common good.
For example, it is futile to think of conquering hunger if the aid-giving nations continue to provide subsidies that seriously damage the agricultural sector in poorer nations, or if food policies are merely oriented towards consumer needs while favoring speculation in the price of staple grains, and food ceases to be a right but a commercial pawn like any other merchandise.
Moreover, in an era of the market, of currency and globalization, what is left for those whose basic problem is their very survival?
That is why it is urgent to reaffirm the evangelical precept of love for neighbor, coupling every form of cooperation - understood, in fact, as fraternal expression - with the priciple of subsidiarity.
All this, with the awareness that communities afflicted by poverty should become players in their own rescue, participating in the use of the aid received from others, especially in terms of applying new knowledge while respecting the environment, because this will guarantee the sustainability of such aid.
Benedict XVI did not fail to underscore that recognition of human dignity, based on the transcendent value of each person created in the image and likeness of God, remains the first step towards eradicating poverty in all its forms.
Hence, it is not merely a question of benevolence towards suffering humanity, but rather of affiming planetary justice. One recalls the unforgettable verse by the Mexican poet Salvador Diaz Miron: "Know this, sovereigns and vassals, eminences and mendicants,
no one has the right to excess as long as a single person lacks the necessary".
If we want a better world, one needs the courage to dare: to say and testify actively to the Gospel values, in order to combat injustice, hatred, war, hunger, poverty, and ultimately, human selfishness.
In this respect, the fact that the world now spends more than a trillion dollars annually on armaments speaks eloquently.
[While the FAO asks only for $44 billion this year to help the hungry.]
OR today also published the text of Director-General Jacques Diouf's remarks to introduce the Holy Father at the FAO summit yesterday:
The tragedy of hunger
is above all a moral problem
by Jacques Diouf
Director-General of FAO
Translated from
the 11/16-11/17/09 issue of
Your Holiness,
Your Majesty,
Eminences,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The presence of Your Holiness this morning at FAO, on the occasion of the world summit of heads of state and government on food security, is an exceptional event.
I must thank you sincerely, personally and in the name of all the participants, for having accepted to share with us your concerns and hope in the face of a world food insecurity.
Your presence this morning among us confers on this summit a strong spiritual dimension to face the problem of hunger in the world.
The tragedy of malnutrition and famine which daily kills thousands of children, men and women is above all a moral problem.
Of all the sufferings that the world knows today, hunger is the most tragic and the most intolerable, even if it is not always the most mediatic.
Any commitment to justice and peace in this world is inseparable from the urgency of making progress in the realization of the right to alimentation for everybody.
Your words and your presence this morning at FAO, Holiness, will demonstrate, if it is at all needed, the consonance of views between the Catholic Church and FAO on this fundamental question.
The Church has always given herself the task of alleviating the poverty of the neediest, and the motto of FAO is 'Fiat panis' - Let there be bread - which means bread for all.
Holiness, I hope that beyond the political messages which will be made in the course of the summit, your presence will allow the battle against hunger to be brought to a level of collective responsibility and ethics which transcend the stakes of national and regional interests, in order to reaffirm in a clear and firm voice the right to alimentation, first among the rights of man.
Thank you.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/11/2009 02:11]