Hunger Symposium: Panel A People Helping People Part 1

Side 1

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I would like first to give you an overview of the program this afternoon to introduce
 
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our distinguished panel of speakers and then to allow each to make his or her presentation
 
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without further interruption except to announce the name of the next speaker.
 
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I think in this way we will have an overwhelming experience of people helping people in emergency
 
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situations.
 
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Once the six speakers have made their presentations, they will then be invited to exchange questions
 
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and observations and other remarks with each other.
 
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And then at the end of the program, the audience will be invited to address questions to any
 
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of the panelists.
 
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Our first panelist is Archbishop Ignatius de Souza, Bishop of Baroda in Kijarat, India.
 
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When I tell you that the Archbishop was born in Goa, you will realize that he was destined
 
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for a missionary career from the beginning.
 
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He was ordained in India in 1938 and served in various capacities in the Archdiocese of
 
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Bombay for 25 years.
 
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He was procurator of the Archdiocese and Port Chamberlain.
 
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I overheard in conversation with another sister that as Port Chamberlain, in 13 years
 
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he addressed 89,000 letters to the relatives of seamen over whom he had an apostolate.
 
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He likewise served as a parish priest and diocesan consulter and was appointed Privy
 
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Chamberlain to the Pope.
 
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Archbishop de Souza is immediately to my right.
 
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To my left is Bishop Edward O'Mara, born in St. Louis, Missouri and ordained in 1946.
 
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He received his doctorate from the Angelicum in Rome in 1967.
 
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He was appointed by the Holy See as the National Director for the Society of the Propagation
 
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of the Faith and has served in various capacities in the missionary affairs of the church.
 
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It is as a result of that vast experience that he is going to address us today on emergency
 
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situations, people helping people.
 
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In 1972 he was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis and continues to be the National
 
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Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
 
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He is the editor of Mission and World Mission Magazine.
 
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Archbishop O'Mara.
 
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To Archbishop de Souza's right is James J. Norris, Assistant to the Executive Director
 
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of the Catholic Relief Services in New York.
 
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Mr. Norris is a member of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace and of Cor Unum.
 
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He is Chairman of the Council for Voluntary Relief Services for Foreign Service.
 
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Mr. Norris holds degrees from the Catholic University of America and from Fordham as
 
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well as honorary degrees from Georgetown and Seton Hall.
 
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He is also the Honorary President of the International Catholic Migration Commission and was appointed
 
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as a lay auditor at the Second Vatican Council.
 
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He was the first layman to be named as an official escort to the Pope in 1969.
 
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To Bishop O'Mara's left is Monsignor Robert J. Cole, Pastor of St. Thomas More Parish
 
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in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Coordinator of Operation Rice Bull, which has been an
 
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immensely successful effort and preparatory effort for the International Eucharistic Congress.
 
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He is a member of the Board of Governors for the Holy Childhood Association.
 
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He served as Diocesan Director of the Propagation of the Faith and was raised to the rank of
 
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Domestic Prelate by Pope Paul VI in 1974.
 
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He has likewise held the position of Assistant Pastor, Administrator, and Pastor and is well
 
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known for his activity in ecumenical, civic, and social organizations.
 
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Diane Miller is the Director of the Food Distribution Program of the Cardinals Commission on Human
 
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Relations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
 
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Mrs. Miller is involved also in nutrition education and legislative reform.
 
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She sums up in her career all the phases of emergency relief and long-range planning
 
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against future emergencies.
 
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She attended the World Food Conference in Rome and traveled to Calcutta to meet with
 
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Mother Teresa to discuss and study emergency feeding programs.
 
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Diane has been both Food Day Coordinator and Chairperson and is the 1976 recipient of the
 
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Human Service Award presented by the City of Philadelphia.
 
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And last, but far from least, the Rev. Michael Doheny of the Holy Ghost Fathers, born in
 
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Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1915.
 
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The father received his education at Black Rock College in Dublin and later took a graduate
 
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degree in Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome.
 
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He joined the Holy Ghost Congregation in 1935 and was ordained in 1945.
 
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Since 1972, he has been involved in relief for Bangladesh.
 
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He accompanied the Concern Relief Team to Ethiopia in 1973, where he made the movie
 
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film The Quality of Mercy, which some of you may have seen.
 
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He also participated in making the two-hour documentary film on world hunger entitled
 
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Five Minutes to Midnight.
 
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It gives me great pleasure to present to you Archbishop de Souza.
 
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Sister Consuelo Maria, Your Excellency, Lord Bishops, Archbishops, Monsignor Raven Fathers,
 
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sisters and dear friends.
 
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I have spoken at length this morning and I have said we have to do more and talk less.
 
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So I am going to be very short.
 
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True love be servants of one another.
 
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Saint Paul to the Galatians, chapter 5, verse 13.
 
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The word of God to be effective must be lived.
 
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The fathers of the church have repeated this in all possible ways.
 
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The preaching of the word without its witness, without life, was a scandal to the people
 
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of the first century, as it still is to the non-Christians today.
 
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It brings our religion under severe suspicion and criticism, as then it brought people to
 
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curse rather than to convert.
 
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Jesus says clearly that we must first do and then teach.
 
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Let our mind, said Saint Ambrose, remain always with him.
 
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Let it never be separated from his word.
 
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The early Christians nourished themselves with the Eucharist and the word with an equal
 
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love.
 
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They used to say, we eat his flesh and drink his blood in the divine Eucharist, but also
 
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in the reading of the scriptures.
 
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They also said, this reading of the scriptures is like eating of the Paschal lamb, and my
 
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refuge is the gospel, which is for me like the flesh of Christ.
 
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Giving and sharing, therefore, is the very basis of the Christian living.
 
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Hence the vitality of Christianity is manifested in the generosity and love with which we
 
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Christians give.
 
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By giving, not only we help and serve our brethren, but we also purify ourselves and
 
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become more Christian, receiving in the process something more precious than what we give.
 
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By giving of what we have, we enrich ourselves in what we are.
 
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Giving in time of emergencies, natural calamities, which are frequent and on the increase, like
 
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famines, droughts, floods, fires, earthquakes, etc., an immediate and accidental need calls
 
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for an immediate unconditional help.
 
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So it is these trials that bring us closer to the cross of Christ in which there is salvation.
 
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We have witnessed this Christian giving on many occasions.
 
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Christians individually and through charitable organizations effectively help in these emergency
 
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situations, and their good example has had a very salutary and contagious effect on others.
 
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Even unbelievers.
 
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Well, you might have read about the Loretto Child in Need feeding program.
 
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It was very much appreciated in our country.
 
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There is, however, another kind of giving and helping with development and productivity
 
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in view.
 
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To help people help themselves and each other in turn.
 
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Much help is given by various Catholic organizations for development work.
 
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The purpose of this nature of help is to put in the hands of the people the means and the
 
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know-how to earn a living without depending on others.
 
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In other words, to educate and to make them self-sufficient as far as possible.
 
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And here I would like to pay a tribute to the sisters in America who have done a wonderful
 
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job in the educational line in the parochial schools.
 
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And I hope and pray that they will keep up that standard.
 
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The fruits of which we used to see during the last war when servicemen used to come
 
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to make their confession and always pay a tribute to sisters so and so who taught them
 
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the Catholicism.
 
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In other words, to educate and to make them self-sufficient as far as possible.
 
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This is a more difficult and demanding assistance as it calls for a deep, careful, and sympathetic
 
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and on-the-spot study of the needs, proper planning for action, execution, and patient
 
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follow-up of the plan.
 
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All this has to be done together with the people themselves in a continual process of
 
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mutual education and mutual help.
 
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Several of these projects are being subsidized and helped all over the world by Christians.
 
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And to a very large extent, over the years, by the Catholic Relief Services of the United
 
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States Catholic Bishops Conference.
 
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A pioneer organization as far as I know in the matter of relief and welfare works.
 
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This organization has been in a way the parent and the source of inspiration to various others
 
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that have sprung up subsequently.
 
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And here we see how a good example is contagious.
 
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And how necessary it is to live the gospel of Christ, to live our Christianity without
 
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watering it down.
 
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We gratefully witness the lasting results of the works carried out under the guidance,
 
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inspiration, and generous assistance given by the CRS under the dynamic leadership of
 
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Bishop Sornstrom.
 
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Who together with his esteemed collaborators have done a magnificent job in witnessing
 
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to the concern and charity of Christ.
 
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In emergencies, they don't wait to be asked.
 
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They are there on the spot to study the situation and offer immediate help.
 
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Besides, their frequent, friendly, personal visits to the far-flung and difficult posts
 
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and to the people afflicted have been to all concern an invaluable source of encouragement
 
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and deep edification to the officials.
 
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They have certainly vitalized some of the local agencies.
 
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Through these projects, well-drawn, sympathetically scrutinized, supervised, and carried out,
 
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people become self-sufficient and capable of helping others in turn.
 
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Land development, irrigation, new seeds, and methods of cultivation are areas where a lot
 
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of good and profitable work has been done and can still be done.
 
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Thanks to the commandment of love and the true Christian spirit of sharing.
 
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In my own diocese of Baroda, more than 2,000 wells have been excavated and pumps provided.
 
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Thousands of acres of land have been improved through leveling and bundling to prevent erosion.
 
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Milk cooperatives have been established to increase the income of marginal farmers.
 
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Seed banks provide seeds to thousands of farmers.
 
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Village go-downs are constructed, roads improved or built, village tanks cleaned, deepened
 
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or enlarged to food for work programs initiated by Catholic Relief Services.
 
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All this includes a real process of education for the farmers who learn to run and to manage
 
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their own affairs and find solutions in common for their problems.
 
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They also learn to contribute to similar projects with increased production of their
 
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farms. They return the help given to them so that others can be helped in their turn.
 
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I am done.
 
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Thank you.
 
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Concerned Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
 
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This time last month I was in Nairobi in East Africa for a meeting of Church leaders
 
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from five East African countries—Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
 
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When one goes to that part of the world, one sees the human family in a state of development,
 
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and one sees the Church at work meeting the sum total of human needs to the limits of
 
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its means and abilities.
 
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In this precious time that is mine, I hope that I can relate for you the role of the
 
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agency that I direct in the United States, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith,
 
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to the problem of world hunger.
 
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Father Brady came to me quite some months ago, almost a year ago, with his gracious
 
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invitation to be part of this symposium. Shortly after it I learned that there was to be a
 
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symposium at the same time on missionary work and evangelization.
 
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I must say that a twinge came over me. I got a bit of a guilty conscience. Was I going
 
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to be in the wrong place when the Eucharistic Congress came around? I made myself do some
 
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very in-depth thinking about that, and I would like you to know that I really believe that
 
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I am in the right place this afternoon because I think it is terribly important for people
 
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like yourselves to understand the connection between Church at its essence and concern
 
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for a human problem such as hunger.
 
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Hunger for food, hunger of the Spirit.
 
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The Lord Jesus came into our world sent by the Father out of the Father's loving concern
 
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for children who had gone astray and, as a result of that, had created needs for themselves
 
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that God alone could satisfy.
 
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And ever since that time, the Church that this Son has sent in the name of the Father,
 
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empowered by the Holy Spirit, has been striving in its mixture of a divine and human way
 
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to carry out that mission.
 
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I would like to say it loud and clear that concern for human hunger for the daily bread
 
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that we need to stay alive physically is truly an aspect of the Church's missionary life and work.
 
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It is not an extra frill added on.
 
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It is not something one indulges in in order to attract others to the core message of Christianity.
 
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It is not something that one gets into to attract attention for some other purpose.
 
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Rather, this concern is truly a part of the Church's mission to humanity.
 
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The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council very loudly and clearly told us that the Church
 
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had its outreach not just because it was given a mandate by Christ Jesus,
 
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but because it contained an inner explosiveness, an inner dynamism that always wanted to go out
 
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and to offer the fullness of God's love, made incarnate in the presence of Jesus Christ,
 
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in the person of Jesus Christ, to humanity and with it a loving concern for humanity's real problems.
 
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Certainly, among those, hunger is high on the priority list.
 
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Since assuming my responsibilities ten years ago as the National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith,
 
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my work has taken me to over sixty countries.
 
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I have known the anguish that maybe you have been spared of seeing in the flesh those starving people
 
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whose pictures sometimes we see in our periodicals, our newscasts, our television programs,
 
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or in our mission magazines, including my own.
 
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It is hard to see that before your very eyes.
 
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It is hard to see the child victims of Quashiore Corps,
 
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to see the homeless starving in the streets that you sometimes find in the Orient,
 
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to see the crowds lining up out of a food station in a mission center in a part of Africa.
 
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One doesn't even need to go that far, though,
 
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because this type of hunger exists in our own land and on our own continent.
 
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It seems to me that we who claim that we are Christ's followers
 
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have a very special role to play in the solution of that problem of world hunger.
 
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It is truly a spiritual problem in the sense that it will never be solved
 
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until enough people in the right places stir themselves to be sufficiently concerned
 
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about the welfare of their fellow man to take the appropriate actions.
 
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I have never read yet, or never been convinced,
 
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that our planet is incapable of providing sufficient food for those who are on it at the present time,
 
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so that the fact that millions live and die in material hunger,
 
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die from malnutrition, undernutrition, from starvation,
 
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is really some kind of an indictment on all the rest of us
 
219
00:25:35,940 --> 00:25:41,940
who just haven't gotten things together in the right way to solve the problem.
 
220
00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:45,940
Here's what I mean about the role of the Church.
 
221
00:25:45,940 --> 00:25:52,940
I believe that it is to be a constant prod at the conscience of humanity,
 
222
00:25:52,940 --> 00:26:00,940
calling the attention of governments, of agencies, of philanthropies, of foundations,
 
223
00:26:00,940 --> 00:26:06,940
of communities of every type, to the plight of the fellow man
 
224
00:26:06,940 --> 00:26:10,940
who does not literally have sufficient food to eat.
 
225
00:26:10,940 --> 00:26:14,940
I believe, too, with a very powerful conviction,
 
226
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:18,940
that we are not just to be a conscience doing that,
 
227
00:26:18,940 --> 00:26:24,940
but that we are also to take what steps we can ourselves
 
228
00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:30,940
for their signed value and also for their effective value
 
229
00:26:30,940 --> 00:26:34,940
in practical ways to relieve the problem.
 
230
00:26:34,940 --> 00:26:38,940
In going about this world of ours,
 
231
00:26:38,940 --> 00:26:42,940
I see no more concerned people in this area
 
232
00:26:42,940 --> 00:26:48,940
than those who have committed themselves on a full-time basis
 
233
00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:54,940
to this work of the Church that we call its missionary life and existence.
 
234
00:26:54,940 --> 00:26:57,940
Archbishop de Souza is one of them.
 
235
00:26:57,940 --> 00:27:00,940
There are many others scattered around this room,
 
236
00:27:00,940 --> 00:27:05,940
some of whom I recognize as friends for many years.
 
237
00:27:06,940 --> 00:27:12,940
It truly is a beautiful thing to go into the so-called third world
 
238
00:27:12,940 --> 00:27:19,940
and see the concern of the Church for the needs of suffering humanity.
 
239
00:27:19,940 --> 00:27:23,940
It's not enough. It's not well enough organized.
 
240
00:27:23,940 --> 00:27:25,940
It isn't backed sufficiently.
 
241
00:27:25,940 --> 00:27:31,940
And yet, in spite of that, I would insist that it truly is a beautiful thing
 
242
00:27:31,940 --> 00:27:36,940
and that it is a sign of God's very loving concern
 
243
00:27:36,940 --> 00:27:41,940
for the entire human family on this earth of ours.
 
244
00:27:41,940 --> 00:27:47,940
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith rejoices in the fact
 
245
00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:52,940
that its role is to help people in countries like ours
 
246
00:27:52,940 --> 00:27:56,940
to be aware of the totality of the Church's mission,
 
247
00:27:56,940 --> 00:28:00,940
to announce and proclaim Jesus Christ,
 
248
00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:03,940
to offer the bread of life that is the Eucharist,
 
249
00:28:03,940 --> 00:28:11,940
and to remind people who hear those words of the other needs of humanity—
 
250
00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:15,940
the needs for education, the needs for medical care,
 
251
00:28:15,940 --> 00:28:20,940
the need for social development, the need for the food,
 
252
00:28:20,940 --> 00:28:26,940
the daily bread that keeps human physical life alive.
 
253
00:28:27,940 --> 00:28:30,940
We in our country and in our part of the world
 
254
00:28:30,940 --> 00:28:35,940
have tended to divide those things into two different sections,
 
255
00:28:35,940 --> 00:28:39,940
two different parts when we think and talk about them.
 
256
00:28:39,940 --> 00:28:44,940
And yet, if you go into the developing world, the third world,
 
257
00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:47,940
the mission world, whatever name you have for it,
 
258
00:28:47,940 --> 00:28:51,940
you'll find out that this division does not exist
 
259
00:28:51,940 --> 00:28:55,940
because you will find the person who is the witness of Christ,
 
260
00:28:55,940 --> 00:28:59,940
the representative of the Church, striving to take care
 
261
00:28:59,940 --> 00:29:05,940
of as many of the needs of their fellow human beings as is possible.
 
262
00:29:05,940 --> 00:29:08,940
This is the end of side one.
 
263
00:29:08,940 --> 00:29:11,940
To hear side two, turn the cassette over now.

Side 2

00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,880
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith rejoices over the fact that it is asked by
 
2
00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:18,940
the Church to support the physical presence of the Church, to support the local churches
 
3
00:00:18,940 --> 00:00:27,200
of the world with the kind of assistance that just makes it possible for existence to be
 
4
00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:34,000
maintained. Not a luxury type existence at all, but a physical presence, however,
 
5
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:40,920
that makes possible the kind of things that Archbishop de Souza just described
 
6
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:46,400
for us. There couldn't be the new farming methods, they couldn't be the wells dug,
 
7
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:51,280
they couldn't be those other things he referred to, unless the Church were first
 
8
00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:58,600
there to do them. And as a corollary of that, our work is to help people in our
 
9
00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:05,520
own country to stay alive and alert to the world dimensions of
 
10
00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:12,760
their commitment to Jesus Christ. The society rejoices too over the fact that
 
11
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:18,000
it has been asked by the church to be so vitally involved in the training of all
 
12
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:25,200
of its future personnel—the sisters, the brothers, the lay leaders, particularly the
 
13
00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:33,560
catechists and the clergy itself—to be involved in training those men and women, now young
 
14
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:39,960
men and young women, who will give their lives in loving concern for the whole family of
 
15
00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:43,360
man.
 
16
00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:51,200
Ever since World War II, the Catholic Church in the United States has shown a concern for
 
17
00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:59,040
the rest of the world that possibly has not been equaled in the course of Christianity's
 
18
00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:00,040
history.
 
19
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,740
Please, God, I do not say this boastfully.
 
20
00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:12,680
I do not indulge in triumphalism, but only to reassure you, to give you the confidence
 
21
00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,840
that you are part of something truly worthwhile.
 
22
00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,240
And we have many agencies to do that.
 
23
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:28,320
I can think of them, things like the Catholic Near East Welfare Association for the Oriental
 
24
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:35,160
Mission areas of the world, things like the Catholic Medical Mission Board that send out
 
25
00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:42,640
doctors, nurses, medical supplies and equipment, the Holy Childhood Association
 
26
00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:48,480
that keeps our young children interested in the poor of the world and the poor
 
27
00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:55,480
church, the mission-sending societies that send our sons and daughters to show
 
28
00:02:55,480 --> 00:03:01,840
forth the Catholicity that only can be shown when people are exchanged from one
 
29
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:10,600
place to another. But two principal ones stand out, the Catholic Relief Services and the
 
30
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:17,800
Society for the Propagation of the Faith. And I do want to tell you that because of
 
31
00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:24,120
your support for both of them, and a very dear friend and esteemed colleague, Jim Norris,
 
32
00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:31,240
will speak of the Catholic Relief Services sufficiently, because of these two agencies,
 
33
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:37,580
The church is able to stay in existence, to hang together, to stay in there in the rest
 
34
00:03:37,580 --> 00:03:39,680
of the world.
 
35
00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:47,240
And then when it's there, when it's alive, when it's present, it's able to come to the
 
36
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,400
aid of all of the hungers of the human family.
 
37
00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,400
It's able to offer the Word of God.
 
38
00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,540
It's able to offer the Eucharist itself.
 
39
00:03:58,540 --> 00:04:07,040
It's able to offer Jesus and it's able to offer bread when it has it to the suffering,
 
40
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:12,800
starving members, our brothers and sisters in the family of man.
 
41
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:19,420
Please God, all of us will go away from this Eucharistic Congress with the conviction that
 
42
00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:26,600
every time we share in the Eucharist of the Lord from this day to the rest of our lives,
 
43
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:33,000
We worship not alone but in union with all the Church, and we ask back from the Father
 
44
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:43,160
strength, life, health, grace, food, not just for ourselves but for all of our brothers
 
45
00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,600
and sisters in the family of man.
 
46
00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:53,680
And then, to the degree that is in our ability, we carry out that prayer, that worship, in
 
47
00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,080
the witness and the work of our lives.
 
48
00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,920
Thank you very much for your constant support and for your graciousness today in listening
 
49
00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:10,800
to my words.
 
50
00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:17,240
Thank you, Bishop O'Mara, for the hope you give us that the little we can do can be so
 
51
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:18,240
effective.
 
52
00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:26,080
Our next speaker will show us another area in which our little can also mean a great
 
53
00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:27,080
deal.
 
54
00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:35,520
Mr. North.
 
55
00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:40,040
Thank you, Sister Consuela and my dear friends.
 
56
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:46,680
I think that our good friend Bishop D'Souza has given a rather good description of the
 
57
00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:51,800
work of Catholic Relief Services, and maybe at this point I should really sit down and
 
58
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,380
just say Bishop de Souza described it.
 
59
00:05:55,380 --> 00:06:02,260
But since the theological base for feeding the hungry and serving the needy has been
 
60
00:06:02,260 --> 00:06:09,020
established so beautifully throughout this whole day as well as even yesterday, my talk
 
61
00:06:09,020 --> 00:06:14,380
or my remarks here are going to be more or less of a pragmatic nature in relation to
 
62
00:06:14,380 --> 00:06:21,360
disaster aid and the programs of the church, how they are carried out at this time.
 
63
00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:28,040
We have right now, fresh in our minds, this terrible earthquake in China. Few details
 
64
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:36,000
are known except we do know that the dimensions are so vast that even as we sit here in comfort,
 
65
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:43,240
people are digging their dead bodies of relatives and friends out of the rubble and vast thousands,
 
66
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,520
numbers still unknown are being displaced.
 
67
00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,360
Hundreds of people are coming anxiously trying
 
68
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,960
to know how they can be of help.
 
69
00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,520
And at this point, all help is being refused.
 
70
00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,600
And there may be good reasons in China for that,
 
71
00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,600
which could be brought out possibly later on.
 
72
00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,120
But here again, we have an example of the concern
 
73
00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,280
and the compassion of people when disaster strikes.
 
74
00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,880
And every disaster, whether it's man-made or it's natural,
 
75
00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,240
brings a need for a very timely and effective help
 
76
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:24,440
in the form of food, shelter, health care, and medicine.
 
77
00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,840
The trauma that results from the loss of everything that one
 
78
00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,880
owns and the sudden displacement due to a catastrophe
 
79
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,920
can be alleviated to a degree by immediate aid
 
80
00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,560
and the presence of concerned people
 
81
00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,560
administering that aid.
 
82
00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,200
And for this reason, among others,
 
83
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,560
in the last quarter of the century,
 
84
00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,040
the agencies of the Church have been giving high priority
 
85
00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,680
to emergency aid in times of disaster.
 
86
00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,000
Since January of this year, there
 
87
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,440
have been a number of emergencies,
 
88
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,240
each one slightly different in nature,
 
89
00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,640
and each one requiring an adaptability and a flexibility
 
90
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,200
on the part of the agencies that try
 
91
00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,640
to meet these emergencies.
 
92
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,880
Just a short list could give you an idea
 
93
00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:15,680
of the variety of situations that
 
94
00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,760
have faced the agencies of the Church this year.
 
95
00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,960
The earthquake in Guatemala, the recent earthquake
 
96
00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,320
in northern Italy, the civil war in Lebanon,
 
97
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,560
the war in Angola, the civil war in East Timor,
 
98
00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,160
the typhoon and floods in the Philippines,
 
99
00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,600
the uprising in the Spanish Sahara,
 
100
00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,940
the drought emergency in northeast Brazil, the typhoon
 
101
00:08:39,940 --> 00:08:43,260
and floods in Guam, the earthquakes, two of them
 
102
00:08:43,260 --> 00:08:47,380
in Indonesia, including Bali, and now
 
103
00:08:47,380 --> 00:08:49,580
the recent earthquake in China.
 
104
00:08:49,580 --> 00:08:52,900
I will not talk about the situation in Bangladesh
 
105
00:08:52,900 --> 00:08:56,820
because we have Father Doheny who will talk about that.
 
106
00:08:56,820 --> 00:08:59,940
No two situations are exactly alike,
 
107
00:08:59,940 --> 00:09:02,360
either in the dimensions of the problem
 
108
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,840
nor in the means that are required to administer aid.
 
109
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,400
But all of them have an element in common, the destruction
 
110
00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,920
or loss of one's home and all of one's possessions,
 
111
00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,480
hard-earned possessions in most cases,
 
112
00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,920
and the displacement of vast thousands of homeless refugees,
 
113
00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,760
either on a temporary or on a permanent basis.
 
114
00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,360
A meaningful and effective response to these emergencies
 
115
00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,520
is more easily carried out in those areas
 
116
00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:37,240
where agencies have ongoing programs of aid and development,
 
117
00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,920
because that type of activity helps
 
118
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,560
to provide the infrastructure that's
 
119
00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:48,600
needed to mount a successful, large-scale emergency program.
 
120
00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,200
A natural reaction when disaster strikes
 
121
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,740
is to rush supplies without any reference to need,
 
122
00:09:54,740 --> 00:09:57,700
with the result that frequently in a few days
 
123
00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:02,300
there is a pileup of unneeded or unwanted supplies,
 
124
00:10:02,300 --> 00:10:06,220
either in the forms of food, shelter, or medicine.
 
125
00:10:06,220 --> 00:10:09,620
People rush into disaster areas who are unneeded.
 
126
00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:11,820
They come without thinking of the fact
 
127
00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:15,260
that they will be consuming scarce food stocks
 
128
00:10:15,260 --> 00:10:19,100
and requiring scarce shelter to be provided locally.
 
129
00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:23,260
Based on years of experience, agencies engaged in emergency
 
130
00:10:23,260 --> 00:10:26,860
aid learn that the maxim, haste makes waste,
 
131
00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:30,740
is a truism twice over in such situations.
 
132
00:10:30,740 --> 00:10:34,620
Pre-planning is vital to the success of any emergency aid
 
133
00:10:34,620 --> 00:10:36,020
program.
 
134
00:10:36,020 --> 00:10:38,740
The prompt gathering of the facts of the situation
 
135
00:10:38,740 --> 00:10:43,060
provides the basis on which an aid program can be mounted
 
136
00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:45,820
effectively and promptly.
 
137
00:10:45,820 --> 00:10:50,120
For example, following our list of items of information
 
138
00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,700
that must be ascertained within hours
 
139
00:10:52,700 --> 00:10:55,060
of the news of a disaster.
 
140
00:10:55,060 --> 00:10:58,780
The scale of the disaster, the numbers of persons affected,
 
141
00:10:58,780 --> 00:11:02,260
the type damage, are roads accessible, is shelter needed,
 
142
00:11:02,260 --> 00:11:05,540
what quantity, what are the relief needs,
 
143
00:11:05,540 --> 00:11:08,440
what is available locally for use,
 
144
00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,860
what are the local structures or the infrastructures
 
145
00:11:11,860 --> 00:11:15,740
that can administer aid, what tonnage of food or other items
 
146
00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:19,380
can be handled effectively, what type of transport
 
147
00:11:19,380 --> 00:11:23,260
is available locally, what is needed from the outside,
 
148
00:11:23,260 --> 00:11:26,480
What ports of entry are to be used for shipments?
 
149
00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,820
What ports are damaged or unusable?
 
150
00:11:29,820 --> 00:11:32,700
Is duty-free entry guaranteed for shipments of food
 
151
00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:34,720
as well as other supplies?
 
152
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:36,300
Shipping information is needed.
 
153
00:11:36,300 --> 00:11:39,820
What types of markings are to go on the foods, medicines,
 
154
00:11:39,820 --> 00:11:42,080
and other supplies that are shipped?
 
155
00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:43,340
How does one communicate?
 
156
00:11:43,340 --> 00:11:45,180
Is telephone available?
 
157
00:11:45,180 --> 00:11:48,220
If not, what arrangements for shortwave radio?
 
158
00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:50,220
Is it possible to use a telex?
 
159
00:11:50,220 --> 00:11:51,100
Is that functioning?
 
160
00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:55,200
If so, what hours of the day is a telex open?
 
161
00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:56,920
Is there a need of additional staff
 
162
00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:01,280
to assist during these immediate days following a disaster?
 
163
00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,000
If funds are to be sent, what is the best channel
 
164
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,680
for transmittal?
 
165
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:09,160
The list may be formidable or may sound formidable,
 
166
00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,320
but experienced personnel in disaster aid
 
167
00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,580
can gather that type of information within hours
 
168
00:12:15,580 --> 00:12:18,640
and thereby lay the basis for a program that
 
169
00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:24,480
avoid waste and reach the victims in the most expeditious manner.
 
170
00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:31,360
One case study might help to demonstrate what steps are taken in a concrete situation.
 
171
00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:36,640
I refer to the Guatemala earthquake on February 4.
 
172
00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:42,240
When the executives of Catholic Relief Services received the radio report of the earthquake,
 
173
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:49,080
The following steps were taken even before contact was made or able to be made with the
 
174
00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:55,840
CRS Director in Guatemala. All CRS departments and offices were put on the alert and took
 
175
00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:02,580
preparatory action in accordance with pre-disaster planning. The Program and Supply Department
 
176
00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:10,000
identified all ships at sea on the way to Guatemala and to nearby countries. It checked
 
177
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:15,960
on all shipments and supplies at or near Gulf ports. All shipments were checked as to the
 
178
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:22,800
types and quantities of foods and other commodities that were in those shipments. The New York
 
179
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:29,540
CRS Warehouse and Processing Center went on standby to prepare to move certain types of
 
180
00:13:29,540 --> 00:13:34,560
reserve stocks that are standard requirements and that are always kept in reserve in the
 
181
00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:39,440
the warehouse, Jeep-type wagons, water purification tablets,
 
182
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:44,760
vitamins, blankets, immunization guns, communications equipment,
 
183
00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,160
tools, and so on.
 
184
00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,600
Thirdly, the purchasing department was alerted to be prepared
 
185
00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,920
to buy replacements for the items that might be used
 
186
00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,560
or placed on standby order.
 
187
00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,200
The freight forwarder was advised to arrange
 
188
00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,040
for a standby charter plane that was to be flown as soon
 
189
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:07,720
his word were received confirming the requirements in Guatemala.
 
190
00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,920
The Central America staff of Catholic Relief Services called all of its program directors
 
191
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:20,640
in the countries adjacent to Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc., to determine
 
192
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:26,440
what stocks of food they had on hand for movement over land to Guatemala.
 
193
00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,580
The CRS staff was put on notice to be prepared to go to
 
194
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Guatemala if needed.
 
195
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,820
The Program and Supply Department reached the United States
 
196
00:14:35,820 --> 00:14:39,560
Government's Disaster Aid Office to determine what reports they
 
197
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,420
had of the extent of damage and what plans they had for food or
 
198
00:14:44,420 --> 00:14:46,540
for other types of help.
 
199
00:14:46,540 --> 00:14:51,420
The CRS Information Office prepared to receive a deluge of
 
200
00:14:51,420 --> 00:14:55,380
telephone calls asking for information about the earthquake
 
201
00:14:55,380 --> 00:15:01,520
Incidentally, there were at least 10 or 12 secretaries who took a constant flow of telephone
 
202
00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:06,340
calls from people for the first week or two after that disaster.
 
203
00:15:06,340 --> 00:15:13,160
The CRS office in Geneva, which maintains contacts with a number of funding agencies,
 
204
00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,260
was alerted to standby for appeals for help.
 
205
00:15:16,260 --> 00:15:21,160
They too got in touch with the UN Disaster Office, the International Red Cross, and the
 
206
00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:26,640
other voluntary agencies in order to coordinate with their efforts, both governmental and
 
207
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:32,020
private. And here, of course, is a very important matter of coordination with everybody else
 
208
00:15:32,020 --> 00:15:36,400
who is involved in disaster aid so as to avoid duplication and overlapping.
 
209
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:44,160
While all of this activity was going on, contact was being made with the CRS Director in Guatemala
 
210
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:50,580
for an on-the-spot report, and this was done by HAM Radio. And thank God for these HAM
 
211
00:15:50,580 --> 00:15:54,700
radio operators because they are the ones who frequently are the first ones who make
 
212
00:15:54,700 --> 00:16:00,580
contact with us and let us know and give us the facts because ordinary communications
 
213
00:16:00,580 --> 00:16:02,380
are cut out.
 
214
00:16:02,380 --> 00:16:08,220
The first reports from all sources showed a lack of information as to the true extent
 
215
00:16:08,220 --> 00:16:13,700
of the loss of life and the destruction of homes, the displacement of people because
 
216
00:16:13,700 --> 00:16:19,300
of the disruption of communications and the distance from the capital city.
 
217
00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:25,380
Information became available, however, to enable the agency within 24 hours to have
 
218
00:16:25,380 --> 00:16:31,580
a shipment on the way, a chartered plane, and to divert food shipments that were at
 
219
00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:37,940
sea to reach contingency ports because some of the normal ports were disrupted.
 
220
00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:42,620
Short wave contact was maintained several times each day in order to keep abreast of
 
221
00:16:42,620 --> 00:16:43,620
the needs.
 
222
00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:48,340
And here again we have to bring out the fact that the situation and disaster changes from
 
223
00:16:48,340 --> 00:16:53,500
day to day to day because, as I mentioned before, the early outpouring of supplies and
 
224
00:16:53,500 --> 00:16:59,260
equipment keeps coming in and frequently the supplies arrive and they just pile up and
 
225
00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:01,220
there's no means to handle them.
 
226
00:17:01,220 --> 00:17:07,540
The local Catholic agency, the Catholic Charities, called Caritas of Guatemala, recruited a large
 
227
00:17:07,540 --> 00:17:13,100
number of volunteers to help with the emergency and they assisted in the distribution of food
 
228
00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:15,180
and other necessities.
 
229
00:17:15,180 --> 00:17:21,660
This eliminated the need for any outside help except for specialized persons.
 
230
00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:26,040
Because of the fact that Caritas had been handling food for a number of years, it had
 
231
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:32,540
experienced personnel, and they were both at the diocesan and at the parish level.
 
232
00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:37,540
They were familiar with the types of food that CRS provided and also with the food-eating
 
233
00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:42,600
habits of the Indian culture, which was very important in this particular case to know
 
234
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:47,880
what types of food were acceptable to this particular culture.
 
235
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:54,720
As noted earlier, each disaster brings with it its own problems and a need to adapt. In
 
236
00:17:54,720 --> 00:18:00,360
some cases, there will be a distribution of food raw and uncooked for the people to prepare
 
237
00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:05,440
themselves if they have facilities. In other cases, such as the Bengali refugee influx
 
238
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:11,560
into India, the Caritas agencies, the religious and others baked thousands of loaves of bread
 
239
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:17,040
each day and distribute them through a variety of church groups and local agencies. In other
 
240
00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:23,520
cases, feeding stations are set up. Food is prepared and given out for immediate use,
 
241
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,540
sometimes right on the spot or sometimes to be carried home. This was the case recently
 
242
00:18:28,540 --> 00:18:34,000
in an earthquake in northern Italy. Monsignor Harnett, Monsignor Landy, Monsignor Bottas
 
243
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:38,600
and I all went up and saw this in action.
 
244
00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,180
During the Philippine floods, and I must say that in the
 
245
00:18:41,180 --> 00:18:44,780
Philippines they have one of the best pre-disaster planning
 
246
00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:48,180
organizations of all, during the Philippine floods and
 
247
00:18:48,180 --> 00:18:52,500
typhoons, the CRS office out there, in cooperation with local
 
248
00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:58,100
agencies, baked daily literally thousands of a small loaf
 
249
00:18:58,100 --> 00:19:03,060
called a nutribun. It is a calorie-packed meal in itself, and
 
250
00:19:03,060 --> 00:19:06,480
these are distributed and flown or even dropped by helicopter
 
251
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,840
in certain cases. Hundreds of thousands of tons of food have
 
252
00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,960
been distributed by CRS and its partner agencies over the past
 
253
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,480
years to victims of the drought in Africa, the floods in
 
254
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,960
Bangladesh, and the droughts in Indian Bangladesh. In all
 
255
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,680
cases, the agency tries to terminate the emergency handout
 
256
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:32,260
distribution as soon as feasible and go into a food-for-work
 
257
00:19:32,260 --> 00:19:36,560
type of program and to begin a rehabilitation program.
 
258
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,300
In these programs, the recipients,
 
259
00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:42,560
as Bishop D'Souza mentioned, are paid for their work,
 
260
00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,800
and the food for work is a general part of the use
 
261
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,460
of American foodstuffs overseas.
 
262
00:19:49,460 --> 00:19:52,260
The money for all this comes from the very wonderful,
 
263
00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:56,400
generous people of our country, as was mentioned earlier
 
264
00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,700
by Bishop O'Meara.
 
265
00:19:59,700 --> 00:20:02,500
The basic budget for Catholic Relief Services
 
266
00:20:02,500 --> 00:20:05,980
provides the basic support that keeps the organization,
 
267
00:20:05,980 --> 00:20:07,940
the structure, overseas.
 
268
00:20:07,940 --> 00:20:11,100
But in many cases, there is a special collection.
 
269
00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:13,700
The collection for Guatemala, for example,
 
270
00:20:13,700 --> 00:20:17,180
has brought in a remarkable $6.5 million
 
271
00:20:17,180 --> 00:20:19,540
so that the agency can really bring effective help
 
272
00:20:19,540 --> 00:20:21,720
to the Catholic Church in Guatemala
 
273
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,260
in trying to help to rehabilitate its people.
 
274
00:20:25,260 --> 00:20:27,580
There are also other sources of funds.
 
275
00:20:27,580 --> 00:20:29,260
The United States government frequently
 
276
00:20:29,260 --> 00:20:33,260
has funds made available through its disaster aid office.
 
277
00:20:33,260 --> 00:20:36,840
And as was mentioned earlier, these wonderful agencies
 
278
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,060
in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand
 
279
00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:42,300
are very prompt with their help through Catholic Relief
 
280
00:20:42,300 --> 00:20:45,220
Services or through the other local church structures
 
281
00:20:45,220 --> 00:20:46,820
that are on the spot.
 
282
00:20:46,820 --> 00:20:51,020
The German Caritas has one man full time just concerned
 
283
00:20:51,020 --> 00:20:53,420
with disasters and emergencies.
 
284
00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:57,740
And he, like many others, go immediately to the disaster
 
285
00:20:57,740 --> 00:21:01,100
area to give a report back.
 
286
00:21:01,100 --> 00:21:03,620
The coordination of Catholic efforts
 
287
00:21:03,620 --> 00:21:06,060
in the field of emergencies is effected
 
288
00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:09,060
at the international level through a special office
 
289
00:21:09,060 --> 00:21:12,740
of the Holy See, the Pontifical Council Corunum.
 
290
00:21:12,740 --> 00:21:16,540
Our Holy Father set up Corunum about five years ago
 
291
00:21:16,540 --> 00:21:19,700
so that it would be his office, his eyes and his ears,
 
292
00:21:19,700 --> 00:21:21,500
for coordinating all of the work of church
 
293
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:25,940
around the world in disaster aid and in refugee aid
 
294
00:21:25,940 --> 00:21:27,720
and in development work.
 
295
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,440
And that office now is at the point
 
296
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,840
where it has information right at its own fingertips
 
297
00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:35,640
about what agency in what country
 
298
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:39,480
can carry out an effective program of emergency aid.
 
299
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,080
Among the Catholic agencies, the International Caritas,
 
300
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,760
or International Conference of Catholic Charities,
 
301
00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,800
which is a federation of 95 national Catholic agencies,
 
302
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,200
has an emergency aid office which immediately sends
 
303
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,800
information to all of its member agencies
 
304
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,440
and frequently obtains funds and resources
 
305
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,760
to be channeled to its members.
 
306
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,680
And incidentally, we are all tied together
 
307
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,500
by a telex network so that we have instantaneous communication
 
308
00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:10,900
with each other so that we know what each other is doing.
 
309
00:22:10,900 --> 00:22:13,240
In recent years, there has been much progress
 
310
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,960
in handling disaster aid and emergency feeding programs.
 
311
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,480
But there is still much room for improvement in emergency
 
312
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,600
feeding and disaster aid.
 
313
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,020
Coronam has been urging every bishops' conference
 
314
00:22:26,020 --> 00:22:28,540
to designate one agency that will
 
315
00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:32,840
be the point of contact at the time of an emergency,
 
316
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,340
likewise to have a standby disaster aid setup, which
 
317
00:22:36,340 --> 00:22:40,540
can be set into motion in times of disaster.
 
318
00:22:40,540 --> 00:22:42,940
Some countries have such an agency.
 
319
00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:44,620
Many do not.
 
320
00:22:44,620 --> 00:22:47,020
Since the United Nations and the Red Cross
 
321
00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:51,700
are also promoting national pre-disaster planning,
 
322
00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:56,160
It is essential that the Church agencies play a true role
 
323
00:22:56,160 --> 00:23:00,800
in the pre-planning and the execution of disaster plans.
 
324
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:01,800
Thank you.
 
325
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:18,360
Thank you, Mr. Norris, for that marvelous insight
 
326
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:23,360
within a very rigid time frame into what is done
 
327
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:27,280
for relief of disasters all over the world.
 
328
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:33,200
I think a slogan that may appeal to all of us is,
 
329
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,500
if you can't do a lot, do a little.
 
330
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,040
I would like to present Monsignor Call
 
331
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,720
as one who has done a great deal
 
332
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:48,000
to make possible direct assistance
 
333
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:53,000
through this wonderfully ingenious plan
 
334
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,300
called Operation Rice Bowl.
 
335
00:23:55,300 --> 00:23:58,620
When it was first presented to the Eucharistic Congress
 
336
00:23:58,620 --> 00:24:02,420
Social Concerns Committee, Father Edward Brady said,
 
337
00:24:02,420 --> 00:24:06,860
it is a plan that has the simplicity of genius.
 
338
00:24:06,860 --> 00:24:09,060
Father Cole, Monsignor Cole.
 
339
00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:37,160
I'm here to ask your help.
 
340
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:48,300
your help in two specific fields.
 
341
00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:57,860
If Christ's presence in the Eucharist means anything, if it is capable of anything, then
 
342
00:24:57,860 --> 00:25:14,420
it should enable us to share our bread.
 
343
00:25:14,420 --> 00:25:20,740
Imagine the genius of Christ made himself into bread.
 
344
00:25:20,740 --> 00:25:28,740
He certainly must have had something in mind.
 
345
00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:40,880
And now we have an opportunity to give him back through the instrument of bread.
 
346
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:49,460
What we ask you to do is to stimulate within this Congress a willingness that the Catholic
 
347
00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:58,220
hierarchy, that the Catholic spiritual leadership, through its priests and
 
348
00:25:58,220 --> 00:26:06,380
sisters and brothers, and above all through its laity, will from this
 
349
00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:21,740
Congress develop a policy toward food sharing. One, a policy which says to our
 
350
00:26:21,740 --> 00:26:29,120
government that food is not to be used as weaponry. That food is not to be used
 
351
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:39,800
as a tool of the economic process to stabilize our economy. That's our policy.
 
352
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:45,880
Bottom line. And you can do it. You can do it through your involvement, through
 
353
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:52,920
your interest, through your bringing it up upon the floor, through the writing of
 
354
00:26:52,920 --> 00:27:05,440
letters to both your pastors, your bishops, your institutions of learning, and above all
 
355
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:13,240
to your governmental representatives.
 
356
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:25,320
Once the 41st International Eucharistic Congress has stated its policy toward food and hunger,
 
357
00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:37,540
it should develop a unified program.
 
358
00:27:37,540 --> 00:27:52,540
This program should be a teaching, spiritual experience of sacrifice, prayer and sharing,
 
359
00:27:52,540 --> 00:28:04,580
so that we begin to develop a new generation, a new breed of cat, who is willing to take
 
360
00:28:04,580 --> 00:28:16,420
what he has and say, brother you have no food I have some have some of mine.
 
361
00:28:16,420 --> 00:28:26,660
This program is to emphasize the fact that we are living in a limited world with limited
 
362
00:28:26,660 --> 00:28:30,580
natural resources.
 
363
00:28:30,580 --> 00:28:39,740
This program should dramatize the fact that surviving demands sharing.
 
364
00:28:39,740 --> 00:28:46,260
This is the end of EC 104, panel A in the Hunger Symposium, People Helping People.
 
365
00:28:46,260 --> 00:28:52,340
The conclusion of the panel will be found on tape EC 105.
 
366
00:28:52,340 --> 00:29:05,540
Recognize the fact that there are hungers which are material on the one hand and spiritual
 
367
00:29:05,540 --> 00:29:06,220
on the other.