Are we feeding conflicts or people? Aleteia Guest Post by Camille Dalmas

Are we feeding conflicts or people? - micheletkearney@gmail.com - Gmail An exclusive service for Aleteia readers At World Food Programme, Pope Leo XIV warns against bureaucratizing solidarity During his visit to the World Food Programme headquarters in Rome, the Holy Father urged the international community to put people before bureaucracy. by Camille Dalmas “Conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished,” Pope Leo XIV noted at the headquarters of the World Food Programme in Rome on Monday, June 22, 2026. Denouncing the “progressive bureaucratization of solidarity,” he pleaded for reinforced multilateral action against hunger. The Pope stressed that it isn't only a matter of coming to the aid of people in need, but also of avoiding an “irreversible collapse.” Cindy McCain, the American director of the WFP, welcomed the Holy Father to the headquarters. The Pope then spent a brief time in silence before an installation commemorating the Nobel Peace Prize, which the UN organization received in 2020. Financed solely by voluntary donations, the WFP collected $6.5 billion in 2025. That same year, it aided 121 million people by distributing 15.8 billion daily rations. The Rome-based agency operates in 120 countries. An urgent task Speaking to the WFP’s executive board, Pope Leo XIV highlighted how the institution’s commitment “resonates profoundly with the Catholic Church’s mission to uphold human dignity and to foster fraternity.” He affirmed that fighting hunger is an “urgent task” requiring leaders to tackle its “underlying structural causes.” He urged them to determine “why the system constantly produces the very problems it is then forced to correct.” “The international order has become increasingly fragmented, arising in part from the crisis of the multilateral system,” Pope Leo XIV observed. Relying on his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he explained that this crisis comes from the “absence of a shared ethical horizon capable of sustaining genuine cooperation.” This gap pushes nations to increasingly allocate “their resources towards national security, economic growth, and domestic stability, disregarding the close link between these issues and multilateral cooperation.” The Holy Father pointed out a paradox in the modern world, noting that “unprecedented global productive capacity exists alongside expanding zones of extreme vulnerability.” He added that the same factors "that drive economic growth often exacerbate exclusion and marginalization.” In this context, he warned that “humanitarian concerns increasingly risk being relegated to a secondary place.” He described this trend as the “progressive bureaucratization of solidarity alongside the quiet commodification of human life.” Pope Leo XIV lamented that humanitarian action is “increasingly burdened by bureaucratic procedures that can delay assistance to those in need.” He also noted that access to essential goods, including food, is “too often influenced by economic or strategic considerations.” As a result, “conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished.” Hunger erodes social cohesion Denouncing a “fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities,” the Pope said that the consequences of this crisis “extend well beyond those immediately affected.” He described a vicious cycle where hunger and wars feed each other reciprocally. “Hunger erodes social cohesion, heightens the risk of conflict and fuels forced migration,” he said. He also sees this dynamic as an obstacle to sustainable economic development for many nations. Pope Leo XIV called for a “principle of shared responsibility” in the international community to support humanitarian action. “In this sense, the World Food Programme is more than a political, economic or technical actor; it is a concrete expression of international solidarity,” he stated. He explained that its presence “helps to prevent humanitarian crises from deteriorating into irreversible collapse.” Pleading for a “renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation,” the Holy Father noted that “in an increasingly fragmented and multipolar world, no single State can address global challenges alone.” He appealed to governments, as well as the Catholic Church, to reinforce this commitment. This means increasing the resources dedicated to fighting hunger and its root causes, while also removing the “obstacles that prevent aid from reaching those in need.” He proposed utilizing the Catholic Church — one of the largest humanitarian actors globally — as a local partner in “areas inaccessible to international actors,” working through Caritas, dioceses, and parishes. A sign of hope At the end of his speech, the Pope spoke by videoconference with several WFP employees, exchanging words with workers on mission in Venezuela, South Sudan, and Lebanon. “I know that many of you literally risk your lives,” he told them, paying homage to those who have died in the field. He then went outdoors to the organization's grounds, where several hundred employees awaited him. He underlined the importance of their mission in helping build community in a polarized world. “You represent, in a very real way, hope to the world,” he told them. In the footsteps of Pope Francis In 2016, Pope Francis also visited the WFP headquarters, where he similarly urged the international community to “debureaucratize” hunger. He denounced the institutional heaviness that sometimes slows down emergency aid to populations affected by food insecurity or famine, as is currently the case in certain regions of Sudan. The WFP shouldn't be confused with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Also based in Rome, the FAO has a different and more technical mandate. It focuses on the development of agricultural policies, food security, and rural development. Successive pontiffs have visited the FAO on several occasions, from Pope Paul VI in 1970 to Pope Leo XIV, who visited on October 16, 2025. Pope Leo XIV will visit the headquarters of UNESCO during his trip to Paris this coming September.