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Bishop in Angola Cautions Companies Against Wasting Food, “be sensitive to the poor”

Bishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Caxito Diocese in Angola. Credit: Radio Ecclesia

Bishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Caxito Diocese in Angola has called on companies and businesses that deal in food to sell their products at affordable prices instead of waiting for the products to go bad only to throw them away.

In his Wednesday, November 8 homily during morning Mass at the Chapel of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) in Luanda, Bishop Camuto regretted that companies are wasting valuable food as many people starve.

“I find it had to understand that in a society like ours, where almost the vast majority are suffocated by poverty and misery, there are people with blatant insensitivity like…companies that have the luxury of letting their products expire and then bury them, in front of millions of children who are crying and dying of hunger,” the Angola Bishop lamented.

He continued, “Let's be more sensitive. Let's not make fun of hunger or the poor. They already have a very heavy cross to bear. Let's not forget that it is with them that God identifies himself.”

“Why not reduce prices before they expire as civilized societies do, so that the poorest, those who can least afford it, can also buy it instead of burying it,” Bishop Camuto said.

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He found it regrettable that food that companies bury is dug up by the poor who eat it, and sell some of it, thereby putting their own lives and the lives of other citizens at risk.

The Angolan member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CSSp) said, “If we have chosen to follow Christ, we must completely change our attitude towards the common good, towards the poor.”

“It is necessary to reflect before deciding to follow Jesus in order to avoid half-living the consecration or commitment made, half for Christ and half for the family,” he said.

The Local Ordinary of Caxito who also serves as the Secretary General of CEAST said, “How much better the world would be, how much better Angola would be if we loved one another.”

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.