Pope Leo XIV called for shared responsibility in the face of world hunger during a visit to the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Thursday.

“The pope’s heart, which belongs not to himself but to the Church and, in a certain sense, to all humanity, maintains the confidence that, if hunger is defeated, peace will be the fertile ground from which the common good of all nations will be born,” Leo said Oct. 16.

After listening to remarks from the FAO’s director general, Qu Dongyu, the Holy Father spoke in both Spanish and English to participants in the World Food Day event, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Queen Letizia of Spain, King Letsie III of Lesotho, Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, and former U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

‘My brothers and sisters’

On the 80th anniversary of the founding of the FAO, the pope emphasized that our consciences must challenge us to resolve the tragedy of hunger, and he appealed to the responsibility of everyone.

“Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers; they are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay,” he said.

Leo also warned that the world needs a real commitment on this issue, not just “solemn declarations,” so that no one lacks the necessary food.

He also claimed that allowing millions of human beings to die from hunger is a “collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical sin.”

Condemning world conflicts as “macabre spectacles,” the Holy Father condemned the use of food as a weapon of war, calling it a “cruel strategy” that denies the right to life.

“The silence of those dying of hunger cries out in everyone’s conscience, even though it is often ignored, silenced, or distorted. We cannot continue like this, since hunger is not man’s destiny but his downfall,” he asserted.

“It seems that we have become apathetic witnesses to heartbreaking violence,” the pontiff continued.

The pope said: “Do future generations deserve a world that is incapable of eradicating hunger and poverty once and for all? Is it possible that we cannot put an end to so many lacerating arbitrary acts that negatively impact the human family? Can political and social leaders continue to be polarized, wasting time and resources on useless and virulent arguments, while those they should serve continue to be forgotten and exploited for partisan interests?”

“We cannot limit ourselves to proclaiming values” but rather “we must embody them,” since “slogans do not lift people out of poverty,” he said.

He condemned a political paradigm and ethical vision that “replaces the person with profit.”

Real solutions, not ‘eye-catching posters’

We must not “be content with filling walls with large, eye-catching posters” but embrace a unified commitment, Leo said.

He also stressed the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation, so that the shortcomings of poor countries can be truly understood in order to solve their problems, “without imposing solutions concocted in distant offices, in meetings dominated by ideologies that frequently ignore ancestral cultures, religious traditions, or customs deeply rooted in the wisdom of the elders.”

Pope Leo XIV insisted that the plight of those who suffer from hunger invites us to reconsider our lifestyles, and that it is necessary to share their pain, since, by failing to live up to our commitments, we become complicit in the promotion of injustice. In the face of war, he emphasized that the international community “cannot look the other way.”

“We cannot aspire to a more just social life if we are not willing to rid ourselves of the apathy that justifies hunger as if it were background music we have grown accustomed to, an unsolvable problem, or simply someone else’s responsibility,” he stated.

The Holy Father concluded his message by recalling that there is also “a hunger for faith, hope, and love,” and he encouraged his listeners not to tire of asking God for the strength to serve those most in need.

“As you continue your efforts, you will always be able to count on the solidarity and engagement, the commitment 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,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.