VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 205   
   DATE 20-11-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Pope at the Conference on Nutrition at the FAO: "the hungry ask for   
   dignity, not charity"   
   - Intense work by the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops   
   - The joy of the Gospel is a missionary joy   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope at the Conference on Nutrition at the FAO: "the hungry ask for   
   dignity, not charity"   
    Vatican City, 20 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis visited the   
   headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, on the   
   occasion of the second International Conference on Nutrition, taking place in   
   Rome from 19 to 21 November.   
    Upon arrival the Holy Father was received by the director general of the FAO,   
   Jose Graziano da Silva, the adjunct director, Oleg Chestnov and Archbishop   
   Luigi Travaglino, Holy See Permanent Observer at the FAO.   
    The full text of the Pontiff's address, delivered in the Plenary Hall, is   
   published below:   
    "I am pleased and honoured to speak here today, at this Second International   
   Conference on Nutrition. I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for your warm   
   greeting and the words of welcome addressed to me. I cordially greet the   
   Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Margaret Chan,   
   and the Director General of the FAO, Professor José Graziano da Silva, and I   
   rejoice in their decision to convene this conference of representatives of   
   States, international institutions, and organisations of civil society, the   
   world of agriculture and the private sector, with the aim of studying together   
   the forms of intervention necessary in the fight against hunger and   
   malnutrition, as well as the changes that must be made to existing strategies.   
   The overall unity of purpose and of action, and above all the spirit of   
   brotherhood, can be decisive in finding appropriate solutions. The Church, as   
   you know, seeks always to be attentive and watchful regarding the spiritual   
   and material welfare of the people, especially those who are marginalised or   
   excluded, to ensure their safety and dignity.   
    "The fates of nations are intertwined, more than ever before; they are like   
   the members of one family who depend upon each other. However, we live in a   
   time in which the relations between nations are too often damaged by mutual   
   suspicion, that at times turns into forms of military and economic aggression,   
   undermining friendship between brothers and rejecting or discarding what is   
   already excluded. He who lacks his daily bread or a decent job is well aware   
   of this. This is a picture of today's world, in which it is necessary to   
   recognise the limits of approaches based on the sovereignty of each State,   
   intended as absolute, and national interest, frequently conditioned by small   
   power groups. Your working agenda for developing new standards and greater   
   commitments to feed the world shows this well. From this perspective, I hope   
   that, in the formulation of these commitments, the States are inspired by the   
   conviction that the right to food can only be ensured if we care about the   
   actual subject, that is, the person who suffers the effects of hunger and   
   malnutrition.   
    "Nowadays there is much talk of rights, frequently neglecting duties; perhaps   
   we have paid too little heed to those who are hungry. It is also painful to   
   see that the struggle against hunger and malnutrition is hindered by "market   
   priorities", the "primacy of profit", which have reduced foodstuffs to a   
   commodity like any other, subject to speculation, also of a financial nature.   
   And while we speak of new rights, the hungry remain, at the street corner, and   
   ask to be recognised as citizens, to receive a healthy diet. We ask for   
   dignity, not for charity.   
    "These criteria cannot remain in the limbo of theory. Persons and peoples ask   
   for justice to be put into practice: not only in a legal sense, but also in   
   terms of contribution and distribution. Therefore, development plans and the   
   work of international organisations must take into consideration the wish, so   
   frequent among ordinary people, for respect for fundamental human rights and,   
   in this case, the rights of the hungry. When this is achieved, then   
   humanitarian intervention, emergency relief and development operations - in   
   their truest, fullest sense - will attain greater momentum and bring the   
   desired results.   
    "Interest in the production, availability and accessibility of foodstuffs,   
   climate change and agricultural trade should certainly inspire rules and   
   technical measures, but the first concern must be the individual as a whole,   
   who lacks daily nourishment and has given up thinking about life, family and   
   social relationships, instead fighting for survival. St. John Paul II, in the   
   inauguration in this hall of the First Conference on Nutrition in 1992, warned   
   the international community against the risk of the "paradox of plenty", in   
   which there is food for everyone, but not everyone can eat, while waste,   
   excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes is visible before   
   our very eyes. Unfortunately, this "paradox" remains relevant. There are few   
   subjects about which we find as many fallacies as those related to hunger; few   
   topics as likely to be manipulated by data, statistics, the demands of   
   national security, corruption, or futile lamentation about the economic   
   crisis. This is the first challenge to be overcome.   
    "The second challenge to be faced is the lack of solidarity; we suspect that   
   subconsciously we would like to remove this word from the dictionary. Our   
   societies are characterised by growing individualism and division: this ends   
   up depriving the weakest of a decent life, and provokes revolts against   
   institutions. When there is a lack of solidarity in a country, the effects are   
   felt throughout the world. Indeed, solidarity is the attitude that makes   
   people capable of reaching our to others and basing their mutual relations on   
   this sense of brotherhood that overcomes differences and limits, and inspires   
   us to seek the common good together.   
    "Human beings, as they become aware of being partly responsible for the plan   
   of creation, become capable of mutual respect, instead of fighting between   
   themselves, damaging and impoverishing the planet. States, too, understood as   
   a community of persons and peoples, are required to act concertedly, to be   
   willing to help each other through the principles and norms offered by   
   international law. A source of inspiration is natural law, inscribed in the   
   human heart, that speaks a language that everyone can understand: love,   
   justice, peace, elements that are inseparable from each other. Like people,   
   States and international institutions are called to welcome and nurture these   
   values - love, justice, peace - and this must be done with a spirit of   
   dialogue and mutual listening. In this way, the aim of feeding the human   
   family becomes feasible.   
    "Every woman, man, child and elderly person everywhere should be able to   
   count on these guarantees. It is the duty of every State that cares for the   
   wellbeing of its citizens to subscribe to them unreservedly, and to take the   
   necessary steps to ensure their implementation. This requires perseverance and   
   support. The Catholic Church also offers her contribution in this field   
   through constant attention to the life of the poor in all parts of the world;   
   along the same lines, the Holy See is actively involved in international   
   organisations and through numerous documents and statements. In this way, it   
   contributes to identifying and assuming the criteria to be met in order to   
   develop an equitable international system. These are criteria that, on the   
   ethical plane, are based on the pillars of truth, freedom, justice and   
   solidarity; at the same time, in the legal field, these same criteria include   
   the relationship between rights and food, and the right to life and a   
   dignified existence, the right to be protected by law, not always close to the   
   reality of those who suffer from hunger, and the moral obligation to share the   
   economic wealth of the world.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)