March 6, 2014: The President of Caritas Internationalis, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez
Maradiaga, has written a Lenten Message reminding Christians of their responsibility
to help end hunger in the world. Reflecting on the plight of some 800 million people
who go hungry each day, he says each one of us can live more simply, waste less and
be more conscious of how we use our resources.
Honduran Cardinal Maradiaga
quotes from Pope Francis’ Lenten message, noting that when power and money become
idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of the world's wealth.
Our consciences therefore need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and
sharing.As we start our Lenten journey, we are invited to consider what those words
mean for each one of us: What is justice? Where is there inequality? How can my life
be more simple? With whom can I share?
The Cardinal urges everyone to reflect
on the Pope’s words and to support the Caritas Internationalis campaign that he helped
to launch last December. Entitled ‘One Human Family: Food for All’, the campaign unites
the efforts of the 164 members of the Caritas confederation worldwide to work towards
ending hunger by 2025
Read the full Lenten message from Cardinal Oscar
Rodriguez Maradiaga: 'Equality, simplicity and sharing'
Many years
ago, I used to teach math. But despite my mathematical training, there’s one equation
that just doesn’t add up for me: the 85 richest people in the world have as much wealth
as half the global population put together.
In his Lenten message this year,
Pope Francis said, “When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority
over the need for a fair distribution of wealth. Our consciences thus need to be converted
to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing.”
As we start on our Lenten journey,
each one of us is invited to reflect on what the words of Pope Francis mean for us.
What is justice? Where is there inequality? How can my life be more simple? With whom
can I share?
Caritas Internationalis launched the ‘One Human Family, Food
for All’ campaign before Christmas. The campaign offers an opportunity to answer Pope
Francis’s invitation. We believe that it is a fundamental injustice that over
800 million people in the world are hungry. These people wouldn’t be hungry if there
were greater equality in wealth and resources were shared more fairly. Each of us
can live more simply, consume less, waste less and be more conscious of our choices.
Sharing – our bread, our resources, ourselves - is the cornerstone of our faith and
a solution to global hunger.
In the run up to Lent here in Rome, all the children
dress up for the tradition of ‘carnivale’. The face of Jesus Christ is also present
in many guises and we may not recognise him at first glance. We may ignore his call
if we’re not attentive. “He does not reveal himself cloaked in worldly power and wealth
but rather in weakness and poverty,” said Pope Francis. Lent is a call to taste
people’s hunger and touch their poverty with our very fingers. It is a time to join
hands with our brothers and sisters who are part of the 3.5 billion poor in the world.
As the Americans would say, it’s time to “do the math”. Please support the Caritas
One Human Family, Food for All campaign to eliminate global hunger by 2025. You can
act by donating online at www.caritas.org or by doing something large or small in
your community to help the poor and vulnerable.
Yours in Christ,
Oscar
Andrès Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga SDB President, Caritas Internationalis