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If famine and malnutrition are to be alleviated, funneling most of the earth's resources to a select few must end, and individuals need to adopt less consumerist lifestyles, Pope Benedict XVI said.
13th November 2006, Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
The unjust distribution of the world's resources not only creates "the scandal of hunger," it also plays a role in today's environmental and energy crises, the pope said during his Nov. 12 Angelus address in St. Peter's Square.
More than 860 million people around the world suffer from malnutrition, and "too many people, especially children, die of hunger," the pope said.
Every five seconds a child dies from starvation, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
Jacques Diouf, head of the U.N. organization, said the number of people who go hungry is increasing by 4 million each year.
Pope Benedict said, "Certainly the structural causes linked to the system of governance of the world economy, which allocates the majority of the planet's resources to a minority of the population, need to be eliminated."
The pope said to make a large enough impact on the growing tragedy of hunger and environmental and energy crises "it is necessary to convert the model of global development" to one that is more just, equitable and sustainable.
Individuals and families also "must do something to alleviate hunger in the world (by) adopting a style of life and consumption that is compatible with safeguarding creation" and treats farmers fairly, he said.
The pope's appeal came the day Italian Catholics celebrate thanksgiving.
He said the faithful need to "get into the habit of thanking the Creator for everything" -- even for air and water.
He urged families to teach children to say grace before meals so that they learn not to take God's gifts for granted.
Christians need to make sure "no one lacks what is necessary to live," he said, adding that the earth's resources are God's gift "to the whole human family."
He asked everyone to make concrete efforts "to beat the scourge of hunger" and "promote justice and solidarity around the world."
Meanwhile, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said the widening gap between rich and poor is "intolerable for humanity."
A recent report released by the U.N. Development Program said the total annual income of the richest 500 people of the world is greater than the total annual income of the poorest 416 million people.
Such gaps between "those who lack the necessary means and others who lavishly waste them" must be erased, Cardinal Martino said during an Oct. 30-Nov. 4 meeting on world food security at U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization headquarters in Rome.
"The right to have enough to eat is fundamental and inalienable for every person and for their family," he said Nov. 4.
He urged governments and economic policies to promote "a more equitable sharing of resources" including "true agrarian reform," since "in some countries, only 1 percent of the population controls 50 percent of the land."
The Vatican's foreign affairs minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, denounced the wealthiest countries' exploitation of the poorest countries. Africa is particularly exploited, he said in a speech released by the Vatican Nov. 6.
Rich countries that benefit from African resources must remember to redistribute equitably the wealth they are reaping, he said.
Catholic News Service
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