Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Gualeguaychú (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishop of Gualeguaychú, Bishop Jorge Lozano, reflects every week after Mass, on a point in the document “Towards a bicentenary in Justice and Solidarity (2010-2016)”, a document that the Bishops of Argentina issued at the end of the 96th Plenary Assembly of the Bishops' Conference. Bishop Lozano's comments have then been transcribed, printed and circulated in the community.
The text of the reflection on n.38, which speaks of the need to “implement agro-industrial policies for integral development” was sent to Fides. Bishop Lozano said: “Not only throughout history but also at the present moment and for the future, our country is linked to the campaign and the important realities of food production. We export food products to more than 100 million people. However, we must continue to take measures to guarantee that no child suffers from malnutrition in Argentina. This causes the death of six children per day from diseases linked to malnutrition, a grave injustice.”
Argentina is a complex reality to manage. Just in recent days, in another province in the Country, in Salta, the National Commission for the Pastoral Care of Aborigines (ENDEPA) rejected a statement by the authorities, who referred to the death of ten children from malnutrition, as “a cultural problem, not health or social, because the aborigines are not used to going to hospital” (see Fides 15/02/2011).
Bishop Jorge Lozano, in his commentary in the Bishops' document, refers to the issue of land ownership and care of the environment: “In recent decades there has been a process of concentration of land ownership, often in foreign hands. This was highlighted in a paper by the Social Pastoral Care Ministry of the Bishops' Conference of Argentina in 2005, entitled 'A land for all'. Much of the growth in the volume of agricultural production is related to the use of chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides, etc.) and transgenic seeds. Scientific debate is essential on the environmental impact that this practice has on some regions of the Country, and thus a legal framework needs to be developed to protect the soil adequately.” Bishop Lozano concludes: “We must consider the land as a source of wealth for all, in its variety of implications for humans and the environment.” (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 22/02/2011)
