The Holy See has urged governments around the world to place homelessness at the heart of housing and urban policy, warning that access to a safe home is fundamental to human dignity rather than simply an economic issue.
The appeal comes as homelessness remains a pressing issue in the UK.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to tackle long-term rough sleeping, announcing a £340m programme to create 1,200 homes and deliver comprehensive assistance to at least 3,000 people in England over the next five years.
The commitment followed official government estimates that put the number of people found sleeping on England’s streets during a single-night survey in autumn 2025 at around 4,793 - the highest figure recorded to date.
According to the Guardian, housing organisations have attributed the rise to a shortage of affordable housing, rising rents and increasing reliance on temporary accommodation.
The Vatican’s intervention was delivered during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the New Urban Agenda, an international framework promoting sustainable urban development.
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See said: “The persistence of homelessness should trouble the conscience of the international community.”
It called on countries to ensure that their cities are designed to promote the common good rather than economic growth alone.
“Everybody deserves a place to call home, where they can build relationships, nurture family life, and participate fully in their community,” the Vatican said. “Housing should therefore be viewed not just as a commodity or financial asset, but as a cornerstone of society at the service of the common good.”
The Holy See argued that well-planned cities should foster “solidarity, inclusion and care” for society’s most vulnerable members, becoming “places of encounter, fraternity and hope.”
Quoting Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ the delegation added that genuine development is achieved only when “people are at the centre,” saying this approach should shape how the New Urban Agenda is put into practice over the coming decade.
The statement described homelessness as “an affront to human dignity” that involves “more than lacking shelter”.
“It means being deprived of security, stability, privacy, and a sense of belonging,” the delegation said, adding that homelessness often makes it harder for individuals and families to enjoy their fundamental rights while reinforcing patterns of poverty and social isolation.
The Holy See called on governments to increase investment in affordable housing alongside integrated social services, while addressing underlying causes like poverty, unemployment, drug addiction, mental health issues, family breakdown, displacement and conflict.
Policymakers were called upon to involve faith-based organisations, local communities, civil society groups and people with lived experience of homelessness when developing solutions.
Housing policy should be considered alongside education, employment and healthcare, the Holy See said, as it called for a more “integrated approach” to “help prevent exclusion and segregation”.
The Vatican’s intervention comes as campaigners in Britain continue to warn that homelessness could worsen without more ambitious action.
A recent report by IPPR North and the charity Crisis projected that the number of people needing statutory homelessness support from English councils could increase by about a quarter by 2030, with over 230,000 people potentially affected unless governments significantly expand affordable housing and adopt stronger “Housing First” policies.
Based on data from the Local Government Association, last year, councils in England spent more than £1.3bn on temporary accommodation, highlighting the growing financial pressure created by rising homelessness.
Concluding its address, the Holy See said the success of a city should ultimately be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable residents.
“Urban development cannot be measured solely by the height of its buildings or the strength of its economy, but above all by its ability to enable every person to flourish by participating fully in society and contributing to the common good,” the statement said.
It added that every person possesses God-given dignity and that “the true measure of a sustainable city lies in how it treats all its members, and, consequently, in its capacity to address multiple forms of poverty, persistent inequalities and environmental degradation”.
