Pope Francis says world suffering a ‘famine of peace’

In his traditional Christmas Day broadcast from the Vatican, Pope Francis claimed that there is a “famine of peace” around the world. He criticised the use of “food as a weapon” in warfare and demanded a stop to the “senseless war” in Ukraine.

About 30% of the world’s wheat was delivered by Ukraine, and since the Russian invasion in February, prices have increased. Pope Francis delivered his tenth Christmas Day address since taking office. He spent the majority of his ten-minute address discussing the conflict in Ukraine, but he added that there was “a catastrophic famine of peace also in other regions and other theatres of this Third World War.” He specifically mentioned the conflicts and humanitarian problems in the Sahel, Haiti, Myanmar, and the Middle East.

The pontiff prayed for “reconciliation” in Iran, where there have been widespread anti-government demonstrations for more than three months. Human rights organisations claim that a crackdown in response to the protests there has resulted in the deaths of more than 500 people, including 69 children.

The 86-year-old Pope bemoaned the human price of war while speaking from a balcony of the basilica that looked out over St. Peter’s Square. He pleaded with people to keep in mind those “who go hungry while enormous amounts of food go to waste daily and resources are being wasted on weaponry.”

“The war in Ukraine has further aggravated this situation, putting entire peoples at risk of famine, especially in Afghanistan and in the countries of the Horn of Africa,” he said.

“We know that every war causes hunger and exploits food as a weapon, hindering its distribution to people already suffering.”

According to the Pope, “those with political responsibility” should set an example by making food “exclusively an instrument of peace.”

The traditional blessing Urbi et Orbi (To the City and to the World), repeated in Latin and customarily in many other languages, was said after his sermon.

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