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Skriven 2006-03-09 08:20:24 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
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                               VIS-Press releases

RURAL WORLD AND ITS VALUES NOT OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2006 (VIS) - On March 7, Archbishop Janusz Bolonek,
apostolic nuncio to Uruguay, addressed the International Conference on Agrarian
Reform and Rural Development, promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and being held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from March 7
to 10.

The themes of the Conference, said the nuncio in his address, "are of vital
importance to the human family and, as such, they also appeal directly to the
Catholic Church which ... feels called to support the cause of human beings in
all circumstances."

The program of the current meeting, the archbishop went on, highlights "a need
to give fresh impulse to international solidarity in order to face the
challenge presented by the development of peoples, and ... a specific
compromise in favor of the growth of the rural world in order to guarantee
humanity effective food security." The nuncio also underlined the urgent need
"to avoid the danger of the rural world being considered of secondary
importance, or even forgotten altogether, which would be detrimental to those
fruitful elements of social, economic and spiritual order that characterize
it."

"The FAO's idea of once again associating agrarian reform with rural
development shows that, despite various initiatives carried out in many
countries and incessant appeals for collaboration launched by international
institutions, millions of people continue to await results. ... It must be
recognized that one of the limits on policies and interventions in support of
the rural world is the lack of reference to traditional structures, to moral
values, ... and to the capacity for autonomous action on the part of
individuals and communities."

Archbishop Bolonek continued: "Because they often live in situations of poverty
and exploitation, with limited access to markets, ... and no support for their
fundamental rights and needs, landless peasants and small-holders must be the
primary recipients of cooperation programs ... that are able to guarantee real
development."

The nuncio recalled this generation's responsibilities in another fundamental
aspect affecting the future of rural areas: "conservation and protection" of
nature and respect for the "mutual balance" of its various ecosystems.

"The worldwide scope of agricultural activity, the use of modern technology and
constant progress in research encourage us to hope ... in the rapid and
imminent growth of the production and rate of human development. These elements
must be evaluated positively," Archbishop Bolonek concluded, "on the condition
that they are seen as being an extension of the creation, something given to
the human family and not factors to disturb the natural order."
DELSS/RURAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE/BOLONEK VIS 060309 (440)

SUMMARY

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