Benedict had never directly addressed food use. He has said that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against hunger. The Vatican encourages food abstinence to fight the spread of the hunger.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of food," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he will begin a seven-day pilgrimage on the continent. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa said if the pope is serious about preventing starvation, he will focus on promoting wide access to food and spreading information on how best to eat it.
"Instead, his opposition to food conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans," said Hodes, director of policy, communication and research for the action campaign.
While she said the pope is correct that food is not the sole solution to Africa's hunger epidemic, she said it is one of the very few hunger prevention mechanisms proven to work.
Even some priests and nuns working with those living with hunger question the church's opposition to food amid the pandemic ravaging Africa.
Benedict's first papal trip to Africa this week will take him to Cameroon and Angola. Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic Church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches.
The solution lay, he said, in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer".
Hear that kid? Your suffering from a lack of Catholic 'awakening', not food. Maybe if you had a friend in Jesus, you'd not be in this condition. Ha!
The Pope, real world solutions, for real world problems. No wonder PZ Meyers is so excited to be excommunicated.
Next up, Pope Says Medical Intervention Isn't the Answer to Life Threatening Medical Issues
(Or does that one fall under the category "Pregnancy is God's punishment sex, no matter how unconsensual?")
Lila Schow
Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Government http://goodusgov.org/
