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POPE-GUATEMALA Jun-2-2008 (260 words) xxxi
Everyone has right to food, unborn have right to life, says pope
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Everyone, especially the youngest and poorest of the world, has a right to food, and the unborn have a right to life, Pope Benedict XVI said.
The protection of human life is the "rock solid and inviolable" foundation upon which all other human rights are based, the pope said in a May 31 audience with Guatemala's new ambassador to the Vatican.
There will always be more work to do in helping guarantee pregnant women, even those who are in "severe difficulty," will be able to raise their children "with dignity, that way avoiding the unjustifiable recourse to abortion," the pope said. The pope made his comments in a ceremony in which Acisclo Valladares Molina presented his credentials.
The pope said protecting all human life, especially the life of the unborn, is an ever pressing task.
Pope Benedict lamented the ongoing problems of poverty and emigration in Guatemala. He said another challenge the country faces is finding a solution to the malnutrition suffered by "numerous children."
The right to food is based on an ethical mandate to "feed the hungry," which reminds people to share their abundance with others out of love, he said.
He noted that "the scourge of violence" in Guatemala is made worse by a "lack of dialogue," broken homes, severe economic inequality, insufficient health care, "the use and trafficking of drugs and the curse of corruption."
He praised progress made in fighting these social ills, but urged that cooperative efforts continue.
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