55. This task might seem impossible in those regions where the daily struggle for subsistence absorbs the attention of the family, where people are at a loss to find work that might improve their lot during their remaining days on earth.
As we talking about exchanges of funds between nations and relief from debt, yes: there are urgent charitable needs that must be addressed before justice can take its course.
These people must be given every possible help; they must be encouraged to take steps for their own betterment and to seek out the means that will enable them to do so. This common task undoubtedly calls for concerted, continuing and courageous effort. But let there be no doubt about it, it is an urgent task. The very life of needy nations, civil peace in the developing countries, and world peace itself are at stake.
I think of the coming disruption from climate change. It is very possible food production will suffer, and with millions of hungry people trying to provide for themselves and their families, this is the formula for disaster from villages to national peace.
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Image credit: Lady Justice at the Central Criminal Court of London.
Catholic Sensibility 