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13h ago

Pope Leo XIV Condemns Leaders for 'Feeding' Wars While Hunger Deepens

His visit to the World Food Programme in Rome frames a moral push for governments to make feeding the hungry a higher political priority.

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Former WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain at the annual session of the executive board of the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech during the annual session of the executive board of the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo speaks during his visit to the Rome headquarters of the United Nations World Food Programme, where he addresses participants at the agency's annual executive board session, in Rome, Italy, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Vincenzo Livieri
Pope Leo XIV, with, from left, former WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau, Archbishops Paul Richard Gallagher, Petar Rajič and Paolo Rudelli, and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, attends a meeting with employees of the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV spoke at WFP headquarters in Rome on Monday, saying that “conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished” and calling food access a fundamental human right.
  • He warned that rising bureaucracy, customs barriers and political limits are slowing aid delivery and urged governments to remove those obstacles so help reaches people faster.
  • The WFP says it fed 121 million people with 15.6 billion daily rations in 2025 but faces a multi‑billion dollar shortfall after donations fell sharply and needs rose.
  • Last week the United States pledged $800 million to the WFP, a partial restoration after earlier cuts, but the agency’s 2026 appeal remains severely underfunded and 318 million people are projected to face food crises or worse.
  • The pope linked hunger to wider instability by saying it fuels migration and conflict, urged closer work with the Catholic Church and civil society, and prompted varied media reactions from moral appeals to political critiques.