Leo XIV: Hunger is not destiny, and food should not be used as a weapon of war
The pontiff addressed the FAO General Assembly, marking the 80th anniversary of the UN agency. "Slogans do not lift people out of poverty,” Leo said. Action is needed to overcome a policy that “replaces the person with profit.” Above all, “Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers. They are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay.”
Roma (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV brought the cry of the poor and the victims of conflict to the Rome headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is marked World Food Day and the 80th anniversary of the UN agency.
In his address, the pontiff said that “hunger is not man’s destiny, but his downfall.” For this reason, “Let us not stop thinking that hunger is just a problem to be solved. It is more than that. It is a cry that rises to heaven and requires a swift response from every nation, every international organization, every regional, local or private body. No one can remain on the sidelines in the fight against hunger. This battle involves all of us.”
In his powerful speech, Leo reminded political and business leaders of their responsibilities in the face of this tragedy. He also stressed that hunger is a problem that challenges everyone, noting that, “Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers. They are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay.”
He spoke at the forum at a time when fewer and fewer believe in the feasibility of Zero Hunger goal, ambitiously set by the UN for 2030. For Leo, “it is time to ask ourselves, [. . .] if there is a real will to do so, and not just solemn declarations.”
In fact, the latest FAO report states that 673 million people in the world go to sleep without eating, and another 2.3 billion who cannot afford adequate food. And “behind each of these numbers there is a life cut short, a vulnerable community; there are mothers who cannot feed their children,” the pope said.
Child hunger is “a clear sign of prevailing insensitivity, a soulless economy, a questionable development model and an unfair and unsustainable system of resource distribution.”
“At a time when science has extended life expectancy, technology has brought continents closer together and knowledge has opened up previously unimaginable horizons, to allow millions of human beings to live – and die – in the grip of hunger is a collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical shame.”
One issue is evident to everyone today, which Leo denounces in no uncertain terms: the link between hunger and wars.
“Current conflict scenarios have led to a resurgence in the use of food as a weapon of war, contradicting all the awareness-raising work carried out by the FAO over the last eight decades.”
He noted that “deliberate starvation is a war crime”, which the United Nations Security Council condemned it in a resolution in 2018.
“This seems to have been forgotten, as we sadly witness the continued use of this cruel strategy, which condemns men, women and children to hunger, denying them the most basic right: the right to life. However, the silence of those who are dying of hunger cries out in everyone's conscience, even though it is often ignored, silenced or distorted.”
For the pope, “the fatal lethargy in which we are often mired. The world cannot continue to witness such macabre spectacles as those currently unfolding in many regions of the earth. They must be brought to an end as soon as possible.”
Leo slams “political and social leaders [who] continue to be polarized, wasting time and resources on useless and virulent discussions, while those they should be serving remain forgotten and exploited for partisan interests”.
“Slogans do not lift people out of poverty. There is an urgent need to overcome the bitter political paradigm, based on an ethical vision that prevails over the current pragmatism that replaces the person with profit. It is not enough to invoke solidarity: we must guarantee food security, access to resources and sustainable rural development.”
He points to a path, that of recognising the essential role of women in the fight against hunger.
“Women are the first to watch over the bread that is lacking, to sow hope in the furrows of the earth, to knead the future with hands calloused by effort. In every corner of the world, women are the silent architects of survival, the methodical guardians of creation. Recognizing and valuing their role is not only a matter of justice, it is a guarantee of a more humane and sustainable food supply.”
Speaking about the relationship between multilateralism and international cooperation, Leo XIV explained that “It is not just a matter of identifying strategies or making detailed diagnoses.
“What the poorest countries hope for is that their voices will be heard without filters, that their needs will be truly understood and that they will be offered an opportunity, so that they can be considered when it comes to solving their real problems, without imposing solutions devised in distant offices, in meetings dominated by ideologies that often ignore ancestral cultures, religious traditions or customs deeply rooted in the wisdom of elders.”
“The hungry faces of so many who still suffer challenge us and invite us to reexamine our lifestyles, our priorities and our overall way of living in today’s world.
“How can we fail to remember all of those who are condemned to death and hardship in Ukraine, Gaza, Haiti, Afghanistan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Yemen, and South Sudan, to name just a few places on the planet where poverty has become the daily bread of so many of our brothers and sisters?”
Leo goes on to say that, “The international community cannot look the other way. We must make their suffering our own.”
At the same time, “We cannot aspire to a more just social life if we are not willing to rid ourselves of the apathy that justifies hunger as if it were background music we have grown accustomed to, an unsolvable problem, or simply someone else’s responsibility. We cannot demand action from others if we ourselves fail to honor our own commitments.”
While “Hunger has many names,” people also have “a hunger for faith, hope and love that must be channelled into the comprehensive response that we are called to carry out together.”
Finally, Leo told his audience: “Do not tire, then, of asking God today for the courage and the energy to continue to work towards a justice that will yield lasting and beneficial results.”
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