Pope Leo XIV has condemned the use of food as a weapon of war, calling it a “cruel strategy” that deprives people of their fundamental right to life.
Speaking at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, on the occasion of World Food Day and the 80th anniversary of the agency’s founding, the Pope urged world leaders to take decisive action to end hunger.
“Food must never be used as a weapon,” the Pope declared, warning that such actions “deny men, women, and children their most basic right — the right to live.”
He reminded that the UN Security Council had previously classified hunger as a war crime, expressing concern that “this consensus seems to have faded.”
“The silence of those dying from hunger cries out in humanity’s conscience,” he said.
“Hunger is not the destiny of humankind, but its downfall. It is not merely a problem to be solved; it is a cry that rises to heaven.”
