The Church at the service of food security

“The Church encourages all initiatives aimed at putting an end to the scandal of hunger in the world.”

Pope Leo XIV

More than a century after Rerum Novarum, the cry of the poor and hungry continues to challenge the conscience of humanity. In response to this urgency, on the tenth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato si', which called us to an integral ecological conversion, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development presents “Seeds of Hope: the Church at the Service of Food Security”, a collection of good practices that recount the concrete commitment of local Churches in guaranteeing access to food and water as essential conditions for integral human development.

The four good practices implemented in different continents - Mexico, Ukraine, Angola and Cambodia - despite the diversity of contexts, testify to a common approach: involvement of local communities, promotion of social justice and care for the common home. Each project, which became the character in a video, was selected based on precise criteria inspired by the social doctrine of the Church, including subsidiarity, solidarity, respect for the environment and the rights of agricultural workers, which can be consulted in the in-depth material made available.

With this initiative, the Dicastery wishes not only to give visibility to significant experiences, but also to sow hope and inspire new actions, so that no one is deprived of the fundamental rights to healthy and sufficient food, access to safe water, and decent working conditions.

As the Gospel reminds us: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink’ (Matt 25:35). The good practices illustrated are intended to be concrete response to this Gospel imperative, in the knowledge that the fight against hunger is, even before being a work of charity, an act of justice.

On December 4, 2025, at 12 noon (Rome time), the webinar “Seeds of Hope: The Church at the Service of Food Security- Good Practices from Africa” took place.

The event included presentations on the examples of good practices that was published by the Dicastery in July and the methodology used to compile that document, a project from Caritas Angola, and other good practices implemented by various local Churches in Africa regarding food security.

Among the presenters were Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Father Uchechukwu Obodoechina, Deputy Secretary General of SECAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar).

The webinar was held in French, English, and Portuguese, with simultaneous translations available.