The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario have released From the introduction to the document: Fruit of the Earth and Work of Human Hands: A 25th Anniversary Reflection on the Ontario Bishops’ 1989 Pastoral Letter,The People and the Land.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in his 2010 World Day of Peace message, wrote: “if you want to cultivate peace protect creation”. His New Year’s Day plea for peace continued with these challenging words: “Can we remain indifferent before such a reality as the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas?”

Our new Holy Father, Francis, returns to this theme in his January 1, 2014 World Day of Peace message where he notes: “the agricultural sector is the primary productive sector with the crucial vocation of cultivating and protecting natural resources in order to feed humanity.” Pope Francis asks us: “How are we using the earth’s resources to feed our world?”

In 1989 the Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Catholic Bishops offered a document about the agricultural community entitled “The People and the Land”. Now, twenty five years later, we bring to our Ontario Catholic faithful an early 21st century look at Ontario’s farming issues in the reflection “Fruit of the Earth and Work of Human Hands “ so that we can learn and better understand what our Creator has blessed us with, and carefully consider the questions and challenges that Catholic social teaching has to offer concerning Ontario’s farming community.

Most Rev. John Pazak, C.Ss.R

Chair, Social Affairs Commission

Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario