THE Pope has condemned the growing use of hunger as a tactic of war for controlling vulnerable populations, while re-committing his Church to working for peace and justice through closer ties with other denominations.
“Starving people to death is a very cheap way of waging war,” Pope Leo said. “In this type of conflict, the first military targets become water-supply networks and communication routes. . . 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 conflict.”
Addressing the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization on its 80th anniversary, the Pope said that the state of worsening food insecurity and malnutrition — currently affecting almost one third of the world’s population of 8.2 billion — made it unlikely that the UN’s 2030 Agenda of “zero hunger” would be met.
He said that “burning land, stealing livestock, and blocking aid” were increasingly used as wartime tactics “to control entire unarmed populations”, and said that current challenges made it essential to “leave aside sterile rhetoric” and dispense with “slogans and misleading promises”.
“Sooner or later, we will have to give an explanation to future generations, who will receive a legacy of injustices and inequalities if we do not act wisely now. We are witnessing a huge polarisation in international relations due to the existing crises and confrontations. . . Questionable ideologies are promoted while human relations cool, debasing communion and stifling fraternity and social friendship.”
The warning follows mounting international outrage over the targeting of civilians and critical infrastructure during wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and elsewhere, amid calls by Churches for basic legal and humanitarian principles to be upheld.
Speaking last week to the general secretariat of his Church’s Synod of Bishops, the Pope said that synodality was a legacy left by his predecessor, Pope Francis, and should be developed by the Roman Church as “a style, an attitude” promoting “authentic experiences of participation and communion”.
During his St Peter’s Square address on Sunday, for the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, Leo said that the continuing persecution of Christians around the world had created “an unseen yet profound unity” among Churches. His pontificate, he said, was committed to “serving in love the communion of all Churches” through “forgiveness and mutual trust”.
“If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith,” he told the congregation in Rome, which included a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“It is important that we learn to experience communion in this way — as unity within diversity — so that the various gifts, united in the one confession of faith, may advance the preaching of the Gospel.”
The Vatican followed up previous warnings about false AI-generated papal quotations with a statement last week, cautioning against fraudulent attempts to obtain money by using fake social-media profiles of Leo XIV.
Addressing a coalition of RC charities on 26 June, the Pope said that people were “dying because of fake news”, as false narratives were used to fuel conflict and violence. Christian hearts were bleeding in response to events in Ukraine, and “the tragic and inhumane situation in Gaza and the Middle East”, and people of faith should help expose and resist “emotional manipulation and rhetoric” and ensure that they did not “end up in the clutches of power”.
“It is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right to coerce others,” the Pope said. “This is unworthy of our humanity, shameful for all mankind and for the leaders of nations.”