In a forceful speech on Oct. 16 to the general assembly of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Pope Leo XIV called out the failure of the international community to eliminate hunger in today’s world and strongly denounced “the use of hunger as a weapon of war.”

After receiving a warm welcome from Dr. Qu Dongyu, the Chinese-born director general of the F.A.O., the American pope, speaking first in Spanish and then in English, addressed delegations from 125 states, including heads of state and government ministers. Pope Leo recalled that the organization was founded in 1945 with the aim of eliminating hunger, then widespread at the end of World War II, a task it has sought to fulfill in subsequent decades.

Yet today, 80 years later, Pope Leo said, notwithstanding advances in agriculture, science, technology and food production, 673 million people “go to bed at night without eating” and another 2.3 billion lack adequate levels of nutrition. “Behind these numbers,” he said, “there is a broken life, a vulnerable community, mothers who cannot provide nutrition for their children.” He underlined the tragic reality of the children who suffer malnutrition and the resultant diseases and delay in development caused by it. 

He denounced all this as “not a coincidence, but the obvious sign of a prevailing insensitivity, of a soulless economy, of a questionable development model and of an unfair and unsustainable system of distribution of resources.” He was alluding to the fact that while there is enough food to feed the world’s population, the problem is the economic system and means of distribution.

The pope added, “At a time when science has extended life expectancy, technology has brought continents closer together and knowledge has opened up previously unimaginable horizons, allowing millions of human beings to live—and die—stricken by hunger is a collective failure, an ethical derailment, a historical guilt.”

His words echoed what he wrote in “Dilexi Te,” his first major teaching document, when, like Pope Francis, he declared, “This economy kills.”

Though he did not call out Gaza by name, Leo then pointed to “a resurgence of the use of food as a weapon of war,” which contradicts “all the awareness-raising work carried out by F.A.O.” He remarked that we seem to be moving “further and further away” from “the consensus” reached by U.N. member states that “considers deliberate starvation a war crime, as well as the intentional denial of access to food to entire communities or peoples.”

He lamented that this consensus “seems to have been forgotten, because, with pain, we are witnessing the continuous use of this cruel strategy, which condemns men, women and children to hunger, denying them the most basic right: the right to life. Yet the silence of those starving screams in everyone’s conscience, even if it is often ignored, silenced or misrepresented.”

“We cannot go on like this, since hunger is not man’s destiny but his downfall,” Pope Leo said. “Let us therefore strengthen our enthusiasm to remedy this scandal!”

Pope Leo said that “hunger is not just a problem to be solved” but rather “a cry that goes up to heaven and that requires the rapid response of each nation, each international organization, each regional, local or private body.”

“Today,” he said, “we can no longer delude ourselves by thinking that the consequences of our failures impact only those who are hidden out of sight. 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.” 

Leo drew attention to “all 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.”

“We cannot demand action from others if we ourselves fail to honor our own commitments,” he said. “By our omission, we become complicit in the promotion of injustice. We cannot hope for a better world, a bright and peaceful future, if we are not willing to share what we ourselves have received. Only then can we affirm—with truth and courage—that no one has been left behind.”

He acknowledged that “the challenges that lie before us are immense” but “so is our potential and the possible courses of action!”

The Augustinian pope, who has visited more than 50 countries and seen poverty in many places, said: 

Hunger has many names, and weighs upon the entire human family. Every human person hungers not only for bread, but also for everything that allows for maturity and growth toward the happiness for which all of us have been created. There is a hunger for faith, hope and love that must be channeled into the comprehensive response that we are called to carry out together.

Pope Leo concluded his speech by referring to the Gospel: “What Jesus said to his disciples when facing a hungry crowd remains a key and pressing challenge for the international community: ‘Give them something to eat’ (Mk 6:37). With the small contribution of the disciples, Jesus performed a great miracle.” 

“Do not tire, then, of asking God today for the courage and the energy to continue to work toward a justice that will yield lasting and beneficial results,” he said. He assured them that as they continue their efforts, “you will always be able to count on the solidarity and engagement of the Holy See and the institutions of the Catholic Church that stand ready to go out and serve the poorest and the most disadvantaged throughout the world.”