The right to life implies right to food, Pope says
October 16, 2009
Access to food is "a concrete expression of the right to life," Pope Benedict XVI says in his annual message for World Food Day. The Pope goes on to say that this right, "though solemnly proclaimed, all too often fails to be fully implemented."
The Pope's message, addressed to Jacques Diouf, the director general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, acknowledges that the current worldwide economic crisis has a particularly damaging effect on agricultural production, especially in impoverished societies. He argues that providing adequate food for all of the world's people "calls for a modification in lifestyles and ways of thinking."
The Pope's indicates that the effort to increase agricultural production and distribution should "safeguard the values specific to the rural world and the fundamental rights of people who work the land." Moreover, he says that technical solutions should not be imposed on needy people, but should respect their rights and needs.
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Posted by: peggyann -
Oct. 17, 2009 12:43 PM ET USA
I like this "guy," too. I'm sure he realizes that the powers that be are more concerned with reducing populations than they are with feeding the world's people. It's very, very sad, but without a Culture of Life, more and more will go hungry. Those in charge are becoming more and more self-serving and we need to storm heaven with our prayers if this is ever going to turn around. Lord have mercy.
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Posted by: -
Oct. 16, 2009 10:06 PM ET USA
I'm starting to like this guy.
