Quote

“We’re not going to end hunger in this world if we don’t figure out a way to be more productive in the agricultural sector globally … We can’t do that without women, especially since they’re 43 percent of the agricultural labor force.” | Victoria Stanley, a senior rural development and land specialist at the World Bank, on a new report by the Bread for the World Institute which found that by empowering women and girls around the world, hunger, extreme poverty and malnutrition can be diminished. “When Women Flourish … We Can End Hunger” stated that women are disproportionately affected by these issues due to discrimination, especially in developing countries. (Catholic News Service)

In the news

Health care hero

LANDOVER HILLS, Md. – Dr. Martin Salia, the Maryland Catholic doctor who died Nov. 17 after contracting the Ebola virus while serving in his native Sierra Leone, was remembered by his family and parish priest as a man who loved God and who loved to serve others.

“Dr. Salia lived the Gospel,” said Father Rick Gancayco, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Landover Hills, where the late doctor and his family were members. “He lived his faith. He laid down his life for his friends.”

The St. Mary School community organized a Nov. 21 memorial Mass for Salia.

Salia died at Nebraska Medical Center after being flown there from Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was serving as chief medical officer and surgeon at Kissy United Methodist Hospital. He was flown to the medical center – one of four in the U.S. designated to handle Ebola patients – after he tested positive for the virus. (CNS)

Saints under 30

Resisting royalty

St. Edith of Wilton lived a faith-filled and humble life despite her less-than-perfect beginnings. She was the illegitimate daughter of King Edgar and a nun, St. Wulfthrith, and herself became a nun when she was just a teenager. Her father tried to appoint her as abbess of several communities, but she always opted to stay with her mother.

Edith did not accept the crown after her brother’s murder; rather, she eventually built a church and dedicated it to St. Denis. Her own death around age 23 was prophesied by her father’s adviser, St. Dunstan. (britannia.com)