Hunger; an Ethical Imperative; and People

"...'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me...

"...'Then the righteous ¹⁶ will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?..."
(Matthew 35:35, 37)

That was then, this is now:

"...Feed the hungry...is an ethical imperative for the universal Church, as she responds to the teachings of her Founder, the Lord Jesus, concerning solidarity and the sharing of goods. Moreover, the elimination of world hunger has also, in the global era, become a requirement for safeguarding the peace and stability of the planet...."
("Caritas in Veritate," 27)

The problem isn't so much that we don't have enough resources to feed everybody:

"...What is missing ... is a network of economic institutions capable of guaranteeing regular access to sufficient food and water for nutritional needs, and also capable of addressing the primary needs and necessities ensuing from genuine food crises, whether due to natural causes or political irresponsibility, nationally and internationally...."
("Caritas in Veritate," 27)

"Political Irresponsibility"

In a way, I can see how the Catholic Church seems to be confused, or "vague" about what's needed in today's world. In this part of "Caritas in Veritate," Benedict XVI writes about "the sharing of goods," but doesn't go on to say that it's time for another worker's revolt against capitalist oppression. The Church isn't 'for' capitalism, either. Reality is a little more fine-tuned than that. (March 13, 2010)

Instead of calling for the proletariat to unite, or the deregulation of international corporations, the Pope mentions things like "network of economic institutions" and "political irresponsibility."

Food Insecurity, Ag Tech, and Development

From some points of view, I suppose it would be nifty if folks who aren't up to speed with today's technology could be kept out of the loop.

Keeping 'backward' cultures from catching up would give anthropologists something to study; and media studios supplied with settings for 'real life dramas.'

It'd be rough on the folks in that 'nature preserve' for 'natives.' That's why I think it's a bad idea.

I also think solutions to what's happening in places like east Africa is not seeing to it that there are fewer Africans. Benedict XVI has some practical suggestions that don't involve culling the herd:

"...The problem of food insecurity needs to be addressed within a long-term perspective, eliminating the structural causes that give rise to it and promoting the agricultural development of poorer countries. This can be done by investing in rural infrastructures, irrigation systems, transport, organization of markets, and in the development and dissemination of agricultural technology...."
("Caritas in Veritate," 27)

Food and Water as a Right

Then, instead of going on with some panegyric about the unalloyed beneficence of science and technology, and the inevitability of progress, we get this:

"...The right to food, like the right to water, has an important place within the pursuit of other rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life. It is therefore necessary to cultivate a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination[65]..."
("Caritas in Veritate," 27)

Maybe a "right to food and access to water" sounds radical. But just a few centuries back, so would letting commoners have a say in how a nation's government works. Things change: and people do need food and water.

Benedict XVI isn't exclusively concerned with the poor and needy, by the way. Here's how section 27 ends:

"...Through support for economically poor countries by means of financial plans inspired by solidarity ... not only can true economic growth be generated, but a contribution can be made towards sustaining the productive capacities of rich countries that risk being compromised by the crisis."
("Caritas in Veritate," 27)

I think a lesson there is that it's not 'my people's world,' or 'their world.' It's our world.

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More posts about "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth)
"Caritas in Veritate"

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