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Pope Chides Greedy Speculators on Food Prices

Profit-hungry markets have ignored human rights, he says

By the Associated Press

Posted Jul 1, 2011 11:52 AM CDT

(AP) – Pope Benedict XVI denounced speculation in commodities markets today and demanded a global response to high food prices based on solidarity, not profit. Benedict told delegates of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization that access to food is a basic human right that must be guaranteed. He said it's urgent to develop economic models that aren't just based on profit but take into account the "human dimension." High food prices, he said, require an international response by countries and institutions like the FAO to uphold the dignity of all people.

"How can we remain silent when even food has become the object of speculation or is linked to a market that, without any regulation and deprived of moral principles, appears linked solely to an objective of profit?" he asked. Click to read how one group thinks food prices will double in 20 years.

Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Archbishop James Harvey, greets faithful in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 30, 2011.
Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Archbishop James Harvey, greets faithful in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 30, 2011.   (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI salutes the audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 30, 2011.
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI salutes the audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 30, 2011.   (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, HO)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 9 comments
Bartmaeus
Jul 2, 2011 5:26 AM CDT
The "human dimension"? Amoral, greedy speculators who cannot see beyond their petty ambitions of securing their future in clover, blind or indifferent to the consequences of their actions, are an all too real and pervasive aspect of the "human dimension" in this secular age. Recognising no authority beyond oneself, or the State, which connives with market forces in the shafting of the poor, is the cause of far more suffering than any religion, whatever any atheist might say. In fact, the real cause of Islamic fundamentalism is the mercenary and exploitative character of both capitalism and communism. Pragmatism and utilitarianism are the greatest causes of injustice in the world, leading to radicalism and terrorism. Deny to man his identity as created in the image of God, and his identity as man disappears. All that then remains is a jungle. The greatest scandal in all this is that many so-called religious people engage in this inhuman fiasco. Its cause is, as Kurt Vogelin describes it, "the immanentisation of the transcendent": spout about eternal life, act as if this was one's everlasting domain, one in which you had to fight off all opposition to secure one's patch, and all is fair in love and war and business is business nothing personal and a load more inane diabolical doublespeak.
reno-reines
Jul 1, 2011 5:18 PM CDT
Bravo Pope Benedict.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

 
United Nations • Pope Benedict XVI • food prices

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