Quebec bishops: Christians must respond to call of the hungry

By Christopher Wells

Quebec’s Bishops are calling on Christian communities and individual Christians to be attentive to the food crisis in Quebec, inviting them to analyse the situation in light of the Gospel and take appropriate action “to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.” 

Fighting food insecurity

The bishops note that ten per cent of Quebec’s population made use of the Quebec food bank network in 2023, representing a 30% increase over 2022 and a 73% increase compared to 2019. They note, too, that the ongoing food crisis adds to the suffering experienced by people who are also contending with crises of housing and inflation.

“Do we perceive this suffering around us?” the bishops ask. “Are we sensitive to it?”

The bishops go on to reiterate their call “to combat food insecurity by respecting the dignity of people, who all need healthy food at an affordable price.”

At the same time, the bishops’ statement, issued ahead of the May 1st celebration of the feast of St Joseph and of Workers’ Day, highlights the fact that in many cases, “having a job is not enough to feed oneself and one’s family.”

Responding to the call of the hungry

“Faced with the current food crisis,” the bishops write, “our Christian communities, which are often already committed to helping the vulnerable, must respond to the call of the hungry… because, in doing so, we will be acting for justice, as Jesus Christ taught us, in continuity with the great biblical tradition of commitment to justice.”

To ensure that everyone has enough to eat, or at least work toward that goal, the bishops invite Christians to take stock of available resources, and then to organize “a fair redistribution of resources, that is, a sharing inspired and guided by the God of love and mercy, who has given goods a universal destination, and to whom we bring the little we have.”

Working alongside other members of society, and “in the name of our faith in Jesus Christ,” the bishops say in conclusion, “we will keep alive the hope of a just society.”

Read the bishops' message here.