Pope Benedict XVI urges recovery of values to battle hunger
(20 Oct. 2006) : Pope Benedict in his message to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), on the occasion of World Food Day 2006 observed last Monday said, “Investing
in Agriculture for Food Security, invites us to reflect on the various factors that
hinder the fight against hunger, any of them man-made. Not enough attention is given
to the needs of agriculture and this upsets both the natural order of creation and
compromises respect for human dignity,” the Pope wrote. Fight against world hunger
calls for the recovery of the genuine values of agricultural work, with the human
person as the protagonist, the Pope wrote in the message. 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," the Pontiff
stressed. "Very often, international action to combat hunger ignores the human factor,
and priority is given instead to technical and socioeconomic aspects. The rural family
needs to regain its rightful place at the heart of the social order," the Holy Father
contended.