Pope Leo XIV visits the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome to mark World Food Day and the 80th anniversary of the organization’s founding. In his address he reaffirms the Holy See’s closeness to the institution and calls for a shared global commitment to end hunger and malnutrition.
“Food must never be a weapon”
Pope Leo expressed deep concern that food is once again being used as a weapon of war, calling this a “cruel strategy that denies men, women, and children their most basic right — the right to life.”
Recalling the UN Security Council’s past condemnation of starvation as a war crime, he lamented that “this consensus seems to have faded.” The silence of those dying of hunger, he said, “cries out in the conscience of humanity,” urging all nations to act decisively.
“Hunger is not humanity’s destiny but its downfall,” the Pope said. “It is not just a problem to be solved; it is a cry that rises to heaven.”
