Pope Leo Urges World Leaders to End "Historic Offense" of Hunger

Pope Leo XIV has slammed the world’s failure to stop millions of people going hungry, blaming a “soulless economy” and calling on people to rethink their lifestyles and priorities.

Pope Leo XIV did not mince words this week at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.

In a fiery address before world leaders marking World Food Day, the first American pope declared that the persistence of hunger in an age of abundance is intolerable — “an ethical derailment” of humanity’s course.

Citing the 673 million people who go without enough food each day, Leo called that statistic “the clear sign of a prevailing insensitivity, of a soulless economy… and of an unjust and unsustainable system of resource distribution.”

In other words, letting so many go hungry in a world of plenty isn’t just a policy failure; it’s a moral failure that, in the pope’s view, offends the Creator and the dignity of God’s children.

He described such widespread hunger as “a collective failure, an ethical derailment, a historic offense” against our human family — an affront against Almighty God.

“Whoever suffers from hunger is not a stranger… He is my brother, and I must help him without delay,” Pope Leo implored during his speech.

Those gathered in the hall witnessed Pope Leo framing hunger as a moral wound that afflicts the whole human family.

He urged them to back up lofty promises with urgent action: “Slogans do not lift people from misery. We must place the human person above profit”, he said, calling on nations to “awaken from the lethargy that dulls our compassion.”

Leo also condemned the cynical use of food as a weapon of war, decrying that “cruel strategy” which starves innocents as “denying them the most basic right — the right to life.”

“We cannot continue like this, since hunger is not humanity’s destiny but its downfall,” the pope warned, portraying the crisis as a choice the world is making — one that must be urgently reversed.

This cause is clearly close to Pope Leo’s heart.

Before his election, Leo spent years as a missionary in rural Peru, encountering hunger up close in impoverished communities.

It’s no surprise that in the first months of his pontificate, he has made caring for the poor a top priority.

His impassioned FAO plea echoed themes long championed by Catholic social teaching — and by Pope Francis, his predecessor — that treating hunger and poverty with indifference is a sin that cries out to heaven.

Indeed, Leo reaffirmed a point dear to Francis: wasting food while others starve is inexcusable, tantamount to “throwing away” human lives, and he urged leaders to end such “outrageous paradoxes” in our global system.

By elevating hunger to a matter of faith as well as policy, Pope Leo is linking the ancient command to “feed the hungry” with a modern call for international justice.

Just days after the UN speech, Pope Leo literally took that message to the streets – or rather, to the sea. He traveled to Ostia, the port of Rome, to visit a “school of peace” aboard the sailboat Bel Espoir.

There, 25 young adults from different countries and religions had been sailing the Mediterranean, fostering dialogue and solidarity across cultures.

On the gently rocking deck of this humble vessel, Leo reiterated his core theme: true peace is built on shared human dignity — and that means no one should go hungry.

He praised the diverse crew’s unity as “a sign of hope for the world,” noting how their living in common taught them the value of “building bridges” across divisions.

The pope encouraged them to keep being “promoters of peace” in a world too often torn by violence and reminded everyone present that “we are all sons and daughters of the one God… all living together on this world” with a “shared responsibility to… care for one another.”

In short, the work of peace and the work of feeding the hungry spring from the same source: recognizing every person as brother or sister.

By week’s end, a clear picture had emerged of Pope Leo XIV’s broader vision for a more just and compassionate world.

Whether standing at a prestigious UN podium or sitting cross-legged in a cramped boat galley sharing pastries, Leo delivers a consistent message: our conscience cannot accept a status quo that leaves millions starving.

Hunger, in his eyes, is not just a social ill but a spiritual affront — a scourge that “cries out to heaven” and contradicts God’s will for His human family.

The pope’s blunt moral clarity is matched with a hopeful challenge. He is calling all of us — world leaders, communities, and ordinary citizens alike — to make good on that fundamental Gospel charge to “give them something to eat.”

In framing hunger as an affront to God, Pope Leo XIV is issuing more than a policy statement. It’s a prophetic appeal to our better selves: to wake up, unite in solidarity, and ensure that no brother or sister is left to suffer in the shadow of abundance.

It’s a call, ultimately, to transform our shared outrage into action, so that in a future not far off, humanity can proclaim that it finally heeded the cry of the hungry — and answered it with love

Letters from Leo is open to anyone who wants to be informed and inspired by our pope — and to turn that inspiration into action that leaves America and the world more just, less cold, and more alive with hope.

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