By Monica Romano
The
surprising announcement that was made two days ago by His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI about his resignation made me feel even more eager to hear the
words he prepared to address the IFAD Governing Council. On behalf of the Pope,
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy
See, read in French the message.
In
welcoming Msgr. Mamberti, IFAD re-confirmed President, Mr. Kanayo F. Nwanze,
defined Pope Benedict as a champion of the fight against poverty and referred
to the Holy Father’s encyclical letters, Caritas
in Veritate, which was published in 2009. As detailed in the sub-title to
the letter, which builds on the well-known Populorum
Progressio by Pope Paul VI and the following Sollicitudo Rei Socialis by Pope John Paul II, the Caritas in Veritate deals with “integral
human development in charity and truth”. It states that feeding the hungry is
an “ethical imperative” and the elimination of world hunger is “a requirement
for safeguarding the peace and stability of the planet”.
While
expressing appreciation for the achievements made by IFAD under the leadership
of President Nwanze and the continuous support to IFAD by the Holy See , Msgr.
Mamberti highlighted some of the most successful approaches implemented by the
Fund. On them, he noted harmonization and convergence with the vision of the Holy See: the prioritization of
the group and solidarity dimensions; the
focus on food security combined with the creation of decent employment
opportunities; the empowerment of smallholder farmers not only economically but
also in decision-making; the valorization of traditional knowledge of rural
communities, which is key to protecting biodiversity; and the targeting of
indigenous peoples. What I found particularly meaningful were the remarks that
“a culture of gift can find a place within economic activities”; that the
IFAD’s modus operandi through
partnerships with Civil Society Organizations is close to the principle of
“subsidiarity”, which is a pillar of the Church’s social doctrine (that is to
say that if something can be done at the local/smaller level then we should go
for it); that the family is at the heart of the social order; and that only love can define the better methods to support the
poor.
I think
that other important elements of convergence that were noted in our common
efforts towards rural poverty reduction are the centrality of land-based
activities and agriculture; and the support to
farmers’ associations, cooperatives and small family businesses, as a
means to make farmers protagonists of their own development and that of their
communities. I was surprised when I heard the Archbishop getting into a more
specific technical area, when he referred to the need to provide farmers with
solid training and technical assistance so that they can move from “an archaic
modality of agricultural production to modern techniques” that need to be
applied with prudence based on the local context.
I have
heard about and seen many success stories about rural poverty reduction. I believe
that all of them have something important to do with family, solidarity and
subsidiarity.