World FoodProgram Director thanks Pope Benedict XVI for aid to poor
(Tues.29 May, 2007):- Pope Benedict XVI met with the executive director of the U.N.
World Food Program - WFP, in the Vatican on Monday. Josette Sheeran thanked
the Pontiff and expressed her wishes that collaboration with the Church can continue
and be strengthened. She said : "I hope that the already excellent collaborative
work with the Catholic Church which, like the WFP, is an institution with truly
global reach, can be strengthened further." Sheeran also thanked the Pontiff for
his invaluable support in favor of the world's hungry. A number of Catholic organizations
work with the WFP. The list includes Caritas Internationalis, which distributed 85,000
tons of food in 2006. Sheeran said: "In crisis and conflict areas around the world
-- as in Darfur, Somalia, Chad, the Occupied Palestinian territories -- WFP staff
often work in dramatic situations, where their own safety may be at risk, to help
those who are most vulnerable. Sheeran told Pope Benedict that his moral authority
and his appeals for peace, justice and security are highly encouraging for them. “
We know we can always count on the partnership and precious help of Catholics and
Catholic organizations," Sheeran added. During the audience, Sheeran invited the
Pope to visit WFP's headquarters in Rome. Later she met with Archbishop Dominique
Mamberti, - Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States.