FAO chief says Pope’s presence will add spiritual, moral dimension to Rome Food Summit

(November 13, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI’s participation in next week’s World Summit on Food Security at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, in Rome is an exceptional moment which must take the fight against hunger in the world to a level of collective and ethical responsibility. FAO director-general, Jacques Diouf made the comment in an article on Friday’s edition of the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. Some 60 heads of state are expected at the Nov. 16-18 Rome summit. Pope Benedict is attending the opening ceremony of the meeting on Monday. Diouf said the fight against the scourge of hunger must transcend national and regional interests to reaffirm with a strong and clear voice the right to food. He said that the Pope’s presence confers a strong spiritual dimension to the summit in the fight against hunger in the world. He further explained that the problem of hunger is not merely economic but also a moral one that calls for a daily battle against it at all levels. “This battle calls for a strong political will that is based on an ethics that places respect for man and his dignity at the centre of the action,” Jacques Diouff added.