World hunger a scandal says Pope

16 Oct. 2013:“It’s a scandal that despite unprecedented progress in various fields of science and a growing possibility of communication, hunger and malnutrition still exist in our world today, said Pope Francis in a message for World Food Day on Wednesday. Bishop Luigi Travaglino, Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation – FAO, read Pope Francis’ message on World Food Day at a ceremony at the organisation’s headquarters in Rome.
In his message the pope said World Food Day presents us with one of the most serious challenges for humanity - that of the tragic condition in which millions of hungry and malnourished people, including numerous children still live. Hunger and malnutrition can never be considered a normal occurrence, as part of a system; something has to change in ourselves and in our societies, said the Pope’s message , lamenting the globalization of indifference, which makes us slowly get used to the suffering of the other, as if it were normal. The papal message said it is necessary now more than ever to educate ourselves to solidarity, to rediscover the value and meaning of this word, so often put aside that indifference becomes the basic attitude of the choices on the political, economic and financial relations between peoples and between nations. The papal message notes that many strides have been made in different countries, but we are still far from a world in which everyone can live in dignity.
The Pope’s message stressed that the Catholic Church which has love - as the soul of its mission ,will always seek to give an adequate response to the problem of hunger and malnutrition and other issues that affect the dignity of every human being. The theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Sustainable Food systems for food security and nutrition”.
VR