VATICAN - “Peace, prosperity, and respect for human rights are inseparably linked. The time has come to ensure, for the sake of peace, that no man, woman and child will ever be hungry again!”: Benedict XVI addresses FAO Conference

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The Holy See has always maintained a keen interest in every effort made to rid the human family of famine and malnutrition, in the awareness that resolving these problems requires not only extraordinary dedication and highly refined technical training, but above all a genuine spirit of cooperation uniting all men and women of good will”. The Holy Father said this in his address to participants at the 34th Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation whom he received in audience on 22 November. The Pope continued: “This noble goal calls for unwavering acknowledgement of the inherent dignity of the human person at every stage of life. All forms of discrimination, and particularly those that thwart agricultural development, must be rejected since they constitute a violation of the basic right of every person to be "free from hunger".”
The Holy Father mentioned “to one of the most troubling paradoxes of our time: the relentless spread of poverty in a world that is also experiencing unprecedented prosperity," and the obstacles to overcoming this tragic situation: Armed conflicts, outbreaks of disease, adverse atmospheric and environmental conditions and the massive forced displacement of peoples. “All these obstacles - Benedict XVI continued- should serve as a motivation to redouble our efforts to provide each person with his or her daily bread. For her part, the Church is convinced that the quest for more effective technical solutions in an ever-changing and expanding world calls for far-sighted programmes embodying enduring values grounded in the inalienable dignity and rights of the human person.”
After expressing his appreciation for the “essential role” played by the FAO to alleviate hunger in the world, the Holy Father said “the united effort of the international community to eliminate malnutrition and promote genuine development necessarily calls for clear structures of management and oversight, and a realistic assessment of the resources needed to address a wide range of different situations”. This requires the contribution of every member of society—individuals, volunteer organisations, businesses, and local and national governments—always with due regard for those ethical and moral principles which are the common patrimony of all people and the foundation of all social life. “The international community - the Pope continued - must always avail itself of this precious treasure of common values since genuine and lasting development can only be furthered in a spirit of cooperation and a willingness to share professional and technical resources”.
“Today more than ever, the human family needs to find the tools and strategies capable of overcoming the conflicts caused by social differences, ethnic rivalries, and the gross disparity in levels of economic development- said Benedict XVI -. Mankind is thirsting for true and lasting peace—a peace that can only come about if individuals, groups at every level, and government leaders cultivate habits of responsible decision-making rooted firmly in the fundamental principles of justice. It is therefore essential that societies dedicate their energies to educating authentic peacemakers: this is a task which falls in a particular way to organisations like your own, which cannot fail to recognise as the foundation of authentic justice the universal destination of the goods of creation".
Coming to the end of his discourse, Benedict XVI affirmed “technical progress, important as it is, is not everything”. “It must be placed within the wider context of the integral good of the human person” and “must constantly draw nourishment from the common patrimony of values which can inspire concrete initiatives aimed at a more equitable distribution of spiritual and material goods”. The activity of the FAO “clearly points to the correlation between the spread of poverty and the denial of basic human rights, beginning with the fundamental right to adequate nutrition” said the Pope, and he concluded: “Peace, prosperity, and respect for human rights are inseparably linked. The time has come to ensure, for the sake of peace, that no man, woman and child will ever be hungry again!” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2007; righe 46, parole 631)