The Distribution of Wealth. What's your responsibility?

This week I read a blog article written by Robert T. Miller in which he responds to Pope Benedict's claim that by changing how resources are allocated, hunger and poverty can be eliminated in the world because at the moment a privileged minority enjoys the most of the planet's resources. Miller analyzed statistics on aggregate gross domestic product across the globe over time and has discovered that nowadays countries are producing twelve times the goods and services they did 35 years ago; he argues that worldwide hunger is not a result of a stagnant amount of good and services that are allocated incorrectly, but uneven economic growth that results in those countries that consistently produce the most resources being the wealthiest. Miller claims that "the world economy is not rigged in favor of the rich nations" because those that produce more themselves experience greater economic growth over a shorter period of time and are therefore able to maintain that growth. Naturally, people that obtain wealth desire to hold on to it. While I believe it is the responsibility of nations that are well off and economic powerhouses to lessen the needs of the poor and help those countries that lack the ability to enter into the economic market, many poor countries do not have the conditions within their country to sustain economic growth. There are many countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East, that are not politically stable, lack honest political leadership, have citizens that abide by the law, engage in free trade, allow free flow of capital, and have a population willing to put forward the work to pull the country out of poverty. Strong leadership that is dedicated to improving the country economically is necessary for the country to stand a change in improving its economic stature. In placed like Zimbabwe where tyranny reigns, the possibility for economic growth is slim. So, if this truly explains why the poor countries are poor and the problem is of production and not distribution, what is a poor country to do? Miller does not offer an answer. In my opinion, if a poor country has strong, respectable leadership as well as some of the other qualities that foster economic growth, in order for it to get on the right path that would lead to sustained growth, wealthy countries need to provide initial assistance. If you're a rich country, look at a poor country that stands a chance at being economically sufficient as an investment - if a poor country succeeds in producing enough to sustain the country, bring it out of poverty, feed its citizens, and then produce a surplus that it can use to gain access into the world marker, the rich country that monetarily contributed automatically gains a new trading partner. However, rich countries are hard pressed to invest in countries that stand little change of using that money effectively. What does this have to do with religion? Are rich countries religiously obligated to help the poor and save the needy? If the Pope really does view the issue as a problem with distribution, how does he intend to solve it?