17/10/2022
Catholic group to take on malnutrition by partnering with Catholic church by producing vegetables on church land that are idle
The Philippine Agriculture Department on the occasion of World Food Day on Oct. 16 pledged to supply vegetable seeds to be planted on Church land by members of the Kalinga ng Diyos Foundation (Care of God Foundation), which is dedicated to curbing hunger in the archipelagic country in Southeast Asia.
“The Catholic Church owns vast tracts of land that are, sad to say, lying idle. Members of the foundation would be shortly approaching the parish priests to lease Church-owned land. The Catholic Church would still own the lands. The foundation would just borrow and use them for the humanitarian project. In fact the foundation is ready to shoulder any expenses as long as they were “reasonable,” he added.
In 2019, the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor issued an appeal to the Catholic Church to let its land be used for humanitarian purposes as “an act of Christianity and act of Christ in serving those who are less fortunate and neglected.”
In this perspective, it may be appropriate to recall the recent statement on twitter by our Beloved Pope Francis,
“Poor People are not “outside” our communities. They are brothers and sisters whose suffering we share. In order to alleviate their difficulties and marginalisation, so that their lost dignity might be restored, and to ensure their necessary social inclusion” - Pope Francis
- https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1581970782627971072?t=iIkedH2b2q1k3OclHNS27w&s=08
Should SSVP think on the above lines and look into such opportunities to serve the needy, especially the vulnerable, whom God loves more? It's possible to organise brainstorming sessions at the national level to find these ideas, work on them, and then present them to the leadership for approval with necessary guidance. Of course, extreme caution must be taken to protect SSVP from any negative effects given that this a global organisation which has special place in the Church in UN, the global forum.
The complete information about the initiative is available in the link below.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-catholic-group-to-take-on-malnutrition/99109