Pope Leo XIV on Monday blasted the use of hunger as a weapon of war in a message to the 44th United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference, which is currently taking place in Rome “We are currently witnessing with despair the iniquitous use of hunger as a weapon of war,” the American pontiff said.
“Starving people to death is a very cheap way of waging war”.
The message did not refer specifically to the situation in Gaza or the war between Israel and Hamas.
Leo added that the Catholic Church backs “all initiatives to put an end to the outrage of hunger in the world” and noted the impact of conflict on food security.
“Today, when most conflicts are not fought by regular armies but by groups of armed civilians with few resources, burning land and stealing livestock, blocking aid are tactics increasingly used by those who seek to control entire unarmed populations,” he said.
“Thus, in this type of conflict, the first military targets become water supply networks and communication routes.
“Farmers are unable to sell their produce in environments threatened by violence, and inflation soars.
“This leads to huge numbers of people succumbing to the scourge of starvation and perishing, with the aggravating circumstance that, while civilians languish in misery, political leaders grow fat on the profits of the conflict…
“Political crises, armed conflicts and economic turbulence play a central role in the worsening of the food crisis, hindering humanitarian aid and compromising local agricultural production, thus negating not only access to food, but also the right to lead a life of dignity and opportunity.
“It would be a fatal error not to heal the wounds and fractures caused by years of selfishness and superficiality.
“Likewise, without peace and stability, it will not be possible to guarantee resilient agricultural and food systems, nor to ensure a healthy, accessible and sustainable food supply for all”.