Pope Francis asks not to forget those “from below” when facing the challenges of food policies in a message on the occasion of World Food Day read at an international forum taking place this week in Rome.
The Pontiff points out that “strong solutions to confront and resolve the food problems of our time require that we consider the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity as the foundations of our development programs and projects.”
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This premise is oriented to the objective that “real listening to the needs that come from below, of workers and farmers, of the poor and hungry, and of those who live with difficulties in isolated rural areas, is never postponed.”
To preserve the right to food, Pope Francis also stressed the importance of “not forgetting the intrinsic social and cultural dimension of the act of nourishment.”
In this sense, he urged political and economic leaders to take into account “the demands of the last members of the food chain, such as small farmers, and of intermediate social forms, such as the family, which intervene directly in the nutrition of the people.
On the other hand, Pope Francis pointed out that “this planet that God has given us must be a garden open to serene coexistence.”
This thought is what, in the words of the Pontiff, inspired his proposal to “consider the paradigm of integral ecology, so that the needs of each man and every man are taken into account, so that their dignity is protected in their relationship with others and in close connection with the care of creation.”
This approach requires “that we allow ourselves to be challenged and moved by the condition of the other and that solidarity becomes the main part of our decisions,” he added.
Before concluding, Pope Francis noted that “the international community will count on the encouragement of the Holy See and the Catholic Church, which do not cease to provide their tenacious contribution so that everyone can have food in adequate quantity and quality for themselves. and for their families, so that each person can lead a dignified life and so that the painful scourge of misery and hunger in the world is definitively defeated.”
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.