Pope Francis called for an international "wave of prayer" to address the plight of the needy and homeless, and called hunger a global scandal, according to a Reuters report.
Since he became Pope, the former Argentine Cardinal's never ceased to beseech world leaders to address rising levels of inequality and poverty worldwide.
"We are in front of a global scandal of around one billion - one billion people who still suffer from hunger today," Pope Francis said in a video message by Caritas Internationalis, a confederation comprised of 164 Catholic charities working in 200 countries. The message served as the launching pad of "One Human Family - Food for All" that hich kicks off Tuesday, December 10, in which anti-hunger activists around the world will pray together for 30 minutes around 12 p.m. ET.
"We cannot look the other way and pretend this does not exist. The food available in the world is enough to feed everyone," the Pope said.
Caritas Internationalis wave of prayer initiative has invited peoples from all religions to join Caritas' local events. One ecumenical or inter-faith service will take place in Washington, D.C. on the East Lawn of the U.S. capitol building, where the US Congress is thinking cutting funds for food stamp programs.
Caritas Internationalis' campaign is urging governments around the world to in their national legislation the right to food.
Pope Francis also called for changes in lifestyle encouraging more people to be conscious about the food they eat. In his message, he said that food choices "often lead to waste and a poor use of the resources available to us."
The Pope is the head of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics worldwide and has urged organizations, churches and individuals "give a voice to all of those who suffer silently from hunger, so that this voice becomes a roar which can shake the world."
