Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope's Message to U.N. Food Summit

"Hunger and Malnutrition Are Unacceptable"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI sent to the participants attending the U.N.-sponsored High-level Conference on World Food Security, held June 3-5 in Rome. The meeting was titled "The Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy."

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Mr President of the Italian Republic,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Mr Director General of the FAO,
Mr Secretary General of the UN,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to address my respectful and cordial greeting to you, who, in different capacities, represent the various components of the human family and are gathered in Rome to negotiate suitable solutions to face the problem of hunger and malnutrition.

I have asked Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, my Secretary of State, to express to you the particular attention with which I am following your work and assure you that I attribute great importance to the arduous duty that awaits you. Millions of men and women look to you while new snares threaten their survival and worrisome situations put the security of their Nations at risk. In fact, the growing globalization of markets does not always favour the availability of foodstuffs and the systems of production are often conditioned by structural limits not to mention by political protection and speculative phenomena that relegate entire populations to the margins of development processes. In light of this situation, one must strongly repeat that hunger and malnutrition are unacceptable in a world that, in reality, possesses production levels, resources and sufficient knowledge to put an end to these dramas and their consequences. The great challenge of today is ""to globalize' not only economic and commercial interests, but also the expectations of solidarity, with respect for and valuing the contribution of each component of society" (cf. Address to the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation, 31 May 2008).
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:53 PM