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

ROME, June 22: 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.

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

After his address at the WFP headquarters, the pope also took part in a virtual call with agency workers in several countries, including Venezuela and Lebanon.

The pope lamented in his address 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".�" REUTERS