IN BRIEF

BENEDICT XVI HAS WRITTEN A MESSAGE TO JACQUES DIOUF, director general of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for World Food Day, which is celebrated every year on October 16 and has as its theme this year "Investing in agriculture for food security." In his English-language Message, the Pope explains how "in Christian tradition, agricultural labor takes on a deeper meaning, both because of the effort and hardship that it involves and also because it offers a privileged experience of God's presence and His love for His creatures. Christ Himself uses agricultural images to speak of the Kingdom. ... Today, we think especially of those who have had to abandon their farmlands because of conflicts, natural disasters and because of society's neglect of the agricultural sector."

CARDINAL STANISLAW DZIWISZ, ARCHBIHSOP of Krakow, Poland, will take possession of the title of Santa Maria del Popolo - at Piazza del Popolo 12, Rome - on Tuesday, October 24 at 6 p.m., according to a communique published today by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.
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