VATICAN - The Pope in his midday Angelus reflection recalls that Jesus wishes everyone to feel responsible for others so that each and all have the necessary for life. The fruits of the earth are God’s gift to the whole human family… Thanksgiving Day in Italy

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) -Sunday 12 November was Thanksgiving Sunday in Italy and in his Angelus address the Pope Benedict XVI said this recurrence was an opportunity “thank God for the fruits of work in the fields” and also a time for “concrete commitment to eradicating the scourge of hunger”.
“In our Christian families children are taught to thank God with a short prayer and the sign of the cross before starting the meal” said the Pope urging those present to continue or rediscover this custom, since it “educates not to take for granted our "daily bread", instead to recognise it as a gift of God”. Indeed “we must learn to bless the Creator for everything… Jesus taught his disciples to pray not for "my" but for "our" daily bread, He wishes everyone to feel responsible for others so that all have the necessary for life. The fruits of the earth are God’s gift to the whole human family”.
Then Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the tragedy of hunger, still very serious despite commitment at the highest institutional levels. “The latest annual Report by FAO - the Pope said - confirmed what the Church knows well from the direct experience of her communities and missionaries: more than 800 million people live in a state of under-nourishment and too many, children in particular, die of hunger”. The Pope stressed the need to “eliminate the structural causes connected with the world economy system which destines the greater part of the planet’s resources to a minority of the population... for a wide scale impact it is necessary to "convert" the global development system; not only to address the scandal of hunger, but also the environmental and energy emergencies. However every individual and every family can do something to alleviate hunger in the world with a life style and consumption compatible with the protection of creation and criteria of justice towards those in every country who work the land.”
Before reciting the Angelus Prayer the Pope said “may Our Lady help us to be grateful for the gifts of God and to promote justice and solidarity in every corner of the earth”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 13/11/2006 - righe 27, parole 411)