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Poverty is in some ways a kind of violence. We can say that its strongest expression is hunger. Let’s not forget that some political, economic and even humanitarian actors don’t hesitate to use poverty, and its most violent expression of hunger, as a “resource” for their own advantage. They use it like a business asset, as a means of illegal enrichment, of dominating and subjugating entire populations. In my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, I remember that in order to subdue the students who were demonstrating against the corruption and dictatorship of his regime, President Mobutu cut off their grants and closed down all the university dining halls.

…We must refuse to accept poverty and hunger as an inevitability and not give in to the temptation that there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve often heard things like: “We’ll always have the poor among us.” These words borrowed from Jesus sound like an appeal to not get involved, but are rather an invitation to refuse the status quo, to fight until no child, woman or elderly person is deprived of sufficient, nutritious quality food. Jesus accepts no justification for letting someone go hungry. We recall his answer to the apostles when they adopted a defeatist attitude before a crowd of people whom the Lord had asked them to feed. He didn’t hesitate to tell them: “You yourselves must give them something to eat.” (Mt 14,13-21). – Father Pierre Cibambo, Caritas Internationalis, Rome
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It’s us the Lord is speaking to today: “You give them something to eat”, and he knows we have the wherewithal to do so! He says to us: You who are my disciples, don’t abandon them to their fate. Do something, you have the wherewithal to do so. Stretch your imagination and be creative. Work ceaselessly and share what you have. Fight selfishness and don’t waste anything. Protest so that the exploitation of the most vulnerable comes to an end. Demand that a stop be put to the monopolisation of land by the rich. Give the poor, women and farmers the know-how and tools they need to produce, process and sell the products of their land, etc. Do the same as God, who is always interested in our daily bread: from the offering of bread in the Temple to the breaking of bread in Emmaus, from the manna of the exodus to the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the Lord has always paid attention to human hunger. May this campaign also help us to rediscover and go deeper into the mystery of the Eucharist. The Lord left us this memorial – which he wanted to remain vitally present among us through the symbols of bread and wine – for a reason. Since then, we cannot break Eucharistic bread or become communities that celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament of communion and alliance, without doing our utmost to give back dignity to our brothers and sisters deprived of sufficient, good-quality food. Indeed, the Eucharist is the expression par excellence of God’s compassionate, merciful and redeeming love. –Cardinal Oscar Andrès Cardinal Maradiaga, President of Caritas Internationalis