Pope Leo decries leaders who 'feed' wars while millions go hungry

World leaders are "feeding" wars instead of the hungry, Pope Leo said on Monday, telling the U.N. food aid agency that global priorities were badly skewed.

Leo, who has been more outspoken on political issues in recent months, urged governments to increase their spending to combat hunger and not subject food aid to limits based on geopolitical concerns.

"Conflicts are 'fed' more readily than people are nourished," the first U.S. pope said in a visit to the Rome headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP).

"This reality reflects not only operational shortcomings but also a fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities," he said.

The WFP is the largest provider of food aid worldwide. Its biggest donor is the U.S., which announced a new $800 million contribution last week, following earlier cuts by President Donald Trump that more than halved planned U.S. funding.

POPE SAYS ACCESS TO FOOD IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

Leo, who drew Trump's ire earlier this year after criticizing the Iran war, did not mention any specific leaders on Monday.

The pope lamented that the world's humanitarian crises were being relegated to a "secondary place among international priorities".

He said that countries "have increasingly allocated their resources towards national security, economic growth and domestic stability, disregarding the close link between these issues and multilateral cooperation".

Leo was welcomed to the WFP on Monday by Cindy McCain, who resigned as director of the agency earlier this year for health reasons.

The WFP, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, provided 15.6 billion daily rations to 121 million people in 2025, funded by $6.5 billion in private donations, according to the agency.

Leo said that access to food was "a fundamental human right grounded in the dignity of every person".

He said alleviating hunger not only helped those in need but also addressed underlying causes of geopolitical instability.

"Food security is an essential component of global and integral security," said the pope.

-Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer/Reuters