SUMMARY:
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The Pope at the Conference on Nutrition at the FAO: “the hungry ask
for dignity, not charity”
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Intense work by the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops
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The joy of the Gospel is a missionary joy
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Other Pontifical Acts
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The
Pope at the Conference on Nutrition at the FAO: “the hungry ask for
dignity, not charity”
Vatican
City, 20 November 2014 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis visited
the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation, on the occasion of the second International Conference
on Nutrition, taking place in Rome from 19 to 21 November.
Upon
arrival the Holy Father was received by the director general of the
FAO, Jose Graziano da Silva, the adjunct director, Oleg Chestnov and
Archbishop Luigi Travaglino, Holy See Permanent Observer at the FAO.
The
full text of the Pontiff's address, delivered in the Plenary Hall, is
published below:
“I
am pleased and honoured to speak here today, at this Second
International Conference on Nutrition. I wish to thank you, Mr.
President, for your warm greeting and the words of welcome addressed
to me. I cordially greet the Director General of the World Health
Organisation (WHO), Dr. Margaret Chan, and the Director General of
the FAO, Professor José Graziano da Silva, and I rejoice in their
decision to convene this conference of representatives of States,
international institutions, and organisations of civil society, the
world of agriculture and the private sector, with the aim of studying
together the forms of intervention necessary in the fight against
hunger and malnutrition, as well as the changes that must be made to
existing strategies. The overall unity of purpose and of action, and
above all the spirit of brotherhood, can be decisive in finding
appropriate solutions. The Church, as you know, seeks always to be
attentive and watchful regarding the spiritual and material welfare
of the people, especially those who are marginalised or excluded, to
ensure their safety and dignity.
“The
fates of nations are intertwined, more than ever before; they are
like the members of one family who depend upon each other. However,
we live in a time in which the relations between nations are too
often damaged by mutual suspicion, that at times turns into forms of
military and economic aggression, undermining friendship between
brothers and rejecting or discarding what is already excluded. He who
lacks his daily bread or a decent job is well aware of this. This is
a picture of today’s world, in which it is necessary to recognise
the limits of approaches based on the sovereignty of each State,
intended as absolute, and national interest, frequently conditioned
by small power groups. Your working agenda for developing new
standards and greater commitments to feed the world shows this well.
From this perspective, I hope that, in the formulation of these
commitments, the States are inspired by the conviction that the right
to food can only be ensured if we care about the actual subject, that
is, the person who suffers the effects of hunger and malnutrition.
“Nowadays
there is much talk of rights, frequently neglecting duties; perhaps
we have paid too little heed to those who are hungry. It is also
painful to see that the struggle against hunger and malnutrition is
hindered by “market priorities”, the “primacy of profit”,
which have reduced foodstuffs to a commodity like any other, subject
to speculation, also of a financial nature. And while we speak of new
rights, the hungry remain, at the street corner, and ask to be
recognised as citizens, to receive a healthy diet. We ask for
dignity, not for charity.
“These
criteria cannot remain in the limbo of theory. Persons and peoples
ask for justice to be put into practice: not only in a legal sense,
but also in terms of contribution and distribution. Therefore,
development plans and the work of international organisations must
take into consideration the wish, so frequent among ordinary people,
for respect for fundamental human rights and, in this case, the
rights of the hungry. When this is achieved, then humanitarian
intervention, emergency relief and development operations – in
their truest, fullest sense – will attain greater momentum and
bring the desired results.
“Interest
in the production, availability and accessibility of foodstuffs,
climate change and agricultural trade should certainly inspire rules
and technical measures, but the first concern must be the individual
as a whole, who lacks daily nourishment and has given up thinking
about life, family and social relationships, instead fighting for
survival. St. John Paul II, in the inauguration in this hall of the
First Conference on Nutrition in 1992, warned the international
community against the risk of the “paradox of plenty”, in which
there is food for everyone, but not everyone can eat, while waste,
excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes is
visible before our very eyes. Unfortunately, this “paradox”
remains relevant. There are few subjects about which we find as many
fallacies as those related to hunger; few topics as likely to be
manipulated by data, statistics, the demands of national security,
corruption, or futile lamentation about the economic crisis. This is
the first challenge to be overcome.
“The
second challenge to be faced is the lack of solidarity; we suspect
that subconsciously we would like to remove this word from the
dictionary. Our societies are characterised by growing individualism
and division: this ends up depriving the weakest of a decent life,
and provokes revolts against institutions. When there is a lack of
solidarity in a country, the effects are felt throughout the world.
Indeed, solidarity is the attitude that makes people capable of
reaching our to others and basing their mutual relations on this
sense of brotherhood that overcomes differences and limits, and
inspires us to seek the common good together.
“Human
beings, as they become aware of being partly responsible for the plan
of creation, become capable of mutual respect, instead of fighting
between themselves, damaging and impoverishing the planet. States,
too, understood as a community of persons and peoples, are required
to act concertedly, to be willing to help each other through the
principles and norms offered by international law. A source of
inspiration is natural law, inscribed in the human heart, that speaks
a language that everyone can understand: love, justice, peace,
elements that are inseparable from each other. Like people, States
and international institutions are called to welcome and nurture
these values – love, justice, peace – and this must be done with
a spirit of dialogue and mutual listening. In this way, the aim of
feeding the human family becomes feasible.
“Every
woman, man, child and elderly person everywhere should be able to
count on these guarantees. It is the duty of every State that cares
for the wellbeing of its citizens to subscribe to them unreservedly,
and to take the necessary steps to ensure their implementation. This
requires perseverance and support. The Catholic Church also offers
her contribution in this field through constant attention to the life
of the poor in all parts of the world; along the same lines, the Holy
See is actively involved in international organisations and through
numerous documents and statements. In this way, it contributes to
identifying and assuming the criteria to be met in order to develop
an equitable international system. These are criteria that, on the
ethical plane, are based on the pillars of truth, freedom, justice
and solidarity; at the same time, in the legal field, these same
criteria include the relationship between rights and food, and the
right to life and a dignified existence, the right to be protected by
law, not always close to the reality of those who suffer from hunger,
and the moral obligation to share the economic wealth of the world.
“If
we believe in the principle of the unity of the human family, based
on the common paternity of God the Creator, and in the fraternity of
human beings, no form of political or economic pressure that exploits
the availability of foodstuffs can be considered acceptable.
Political and economic pressure: here I think of our sister and
mother, Earth, our planet, and of whether we are free of political
and economic pressure and able to care for her, to avoid her
destruction. We have two conferences ahead of us, in Perù and
France, which pose the challenge to us of caring for our planet. I
remember a phrase that I heard from an elderly man many years ago:
God always forgives … our misdemeanours, our abuse, God always
forgives; men forgive at times; but the Earth never forgives. We must
care for our sister the Earth, our Mother Earth, so that she does not
respond with destruction. But, above all, no system of
discrimination, de facto or de jure, linked to the capacity of access
to the market of foodstuffs, must be taken as a model for
international efforts that aim to eliminate hunger.
“By
sharing these reflections with you, I ask that the Almighty, God rich
in mercy, bless all those who, with different responsibilities, place
themselves at the service of those who experience hunger and who
assist them with concrete gestures of closeness. I also pray that the
international community might hear the call of this Conference and
consider it an expression of the common conscience of humanity: feed
the hungry, save life on the planet. Thank you”.
Intense
work by the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops
Vatican
City, 20 November 2014 (VIS) – The Ordinary Council of the Synod of
Bishops will meet on 18 and 19 November to reflect on the results of
the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
held during October, and to prepare for the 14 th General Ordinary
Assembly on the theme “The vocation and the mission of the family
in the Church and in the contemporary world”, to be held from 4 to
25 October 2015.
The
Holy Father will chair the Council on Tuesday 18 and his presence
will underline the importance he accords to the Synod as an
expression of episcopal collegiality and to the family, the theme of
the two Assemblies: the extraordinary Assembly held this year and the
Ordinary one, in the preparatory stages.
Alongside
the secretary general, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, and the
under-secretary, Archbishop Fabio Fabene, the meeting was attended by
Cardinals Christoph Schonborn, Wilfried F. Napier, Peter K.A.
Turkson, George Pell, Donald W. Wuerl, and Luis A. Tagle, and by
Archbishops Bruno Forte and Salvatore Fisichella. Bishop Vincenzo
Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, also
participated by invitation.
In
his introduction to the work of the Synod, the secretary general
emphasised the climate of freedom and sincerity and the spirit of
fraternal communion that characterised the Assembly, in which
everyone was encouraged to contribute. Also, the final document, the
Relatio Synodi, faithfully reflects the multi-faceted results of the
Synod and offers a good summary of the process that took place during
the Assembly.
In
the meeting, it was agreed that the current period between the two
Assemblies, which is unprecedented in the history of the Synod as an
institution, is of great importance. It is necessary to take the path
followed so far as a starting point and to make the most of this
special opportunity to deepen knowledge of the themes and to promote
discussion at the level of the episcopal conferences, finding the
means and the tools necessary to further involve various ecclesial
bodies in the synodal reflection on the family. Various ideas on
communication were also considered, which may be useful in view of
the preparation for the upcoming Ordinary Assembly.
The
majority of the work was devoted to the preparation of the Lineamenta
for the next Ordinary Assembly. The guidelines will be made up, as
previously indicated, of the Relatio Synodi, accompanied by a series
of points to help in its reception and elaboration.
The
Lineamenta are expected to be sent to the Episcopal Conferences at
the beginning of December, so that the answers can be received in
good time to allow them to be developed in the Instrumentum Laboris
before the summer of 2015.
The
joy of the Gospel is a missionary joy
Vatican
City, 20 November 2014 (VIS) – The Third World Congress of
Ecclesial Movements and New Communities began in Rome today.
Organised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the meeting is a
response to the appeal for missionary conversion launched by Pope
Francis to all Christians in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii
Gaudium.
The
congress – the third of this type following those held during the
pontificates of St. John Paul II in 1998 and Benedict XVI in 2006 –
will be attended by more than 300 members of lay associations from 40
countries, gathered to explore the theme “The joy of the Gospel: a
missionary joy”.
The
congress was inaugurated by Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of
the Pontifical Council for the Laity, who recalled the rich teaching
of the last three pontiffs on what St. John Paul II defined as “the
new season of associations of the faithful”. The cardinal
emphasised that St. John Paul II closely followed and guided the
rapid development of ecclesial movements and new communities,
accompanying them with his clear and enlightening words … and
indicated a new phase in the life of new charisms, which would
necessarily have to follow their initial flourish – the phase of
ecclesial maturity”.
For
Pope Benedict XVI, he continued, “the multiple forms and the unity
of charisms and ministries are inseparable in the life of the Church.
The Holy Spirit desires the multiplicity of movements in the service
of the single Body that is the Church”.
Pope
Francis well knows the reality of ecclesial movements, insists that
the new charisms “are not a closed patrimony, consigned to a
specific group to guard it; they are rather gifts from the Spirit
integrated into the ecclesial body, attracted towards the centre that
is Christ, from where they are channeled into an evangelical
impulse”.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 20 November 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Bishop
Peter Andrew Comensoli as bishop of Broken Bay (area 2,763,
population 930,000, Catholics 395,000, priests 109, permanent deacons
6, religious 155), Australia. Bishop Comensoli is currently auxiliary
of the archdiocese of Sydney, Australia.
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