Pope Leo XIV used his first audience with the press on Monday to attract journalists to help cool the heated language of the media landscape, renewed his calls for a more peaceful world.
Echoing some thoughts of his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo requested the use of moderate language to present facts to the world.
“Let’s disarm the communication of all preaching and resentment, fanaticism and even hate; we will free the aggression,” Leo told more than 1,000 journalists, including the Vatican press body, which met in an auditorium in Vatican on Monday. “We do not need strong and forceful communication, but a communication that is able to listen,” he added, delivering his direction in Italian.
In words that would probably win points with his audience, Hey also talked about the need for people to be informed to make solid decisions and “the beautiful gift of freedom of expression and the press.”
The newly chosen Pope Tok the Stage for a great ovation of the members of the media, some of whom will continue to inform about their papacy, and some who flew to spend days and weekly reports about the death and funeral of Francis, as well as the experiment of the concolave. Leo’s direction, a papal tradition, was frequently interrupted by applause.
The last five popes have celebrated the public with the media in the early days of their papacy. The event reflects the recognition of the Vatican of the value of public communication and his desire to have a good relationship with the media that report him.
Leo, the first American Pope to direct the Roman Catholic Church and his 1.4 billion faithful, has spent the first days of his papacy promising to align with “common people”, while denouncing the aggression and conflict. While Vatican’s observers look for clues about how he plans to lead, Leo has evoked Francis, who spoke tirelessly for the marginalized, several times already. Hey, he did again on Monday.
In his comments, which last about 10 minutes, Leo also requested the launch of journalists who had been imprisoned for his work. At least 550 journalists were arrested worldwide in December 2024, according to journalists without borders, a non -partisan organization that works to protect journalists.
Leo said the Church saw journalists imprisoned as witnesses. “I am thinking of those who report on war even at the expense of their lives: the courage of those who defend the dignity, justice and right of people to be informed, informed people can only make free decisions,” he said.
“The suffering of these jailed journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, asking everyone to safeguard the beautiful gift of freedom of expression and the press,” he said.
Hey mentioned the challenges of social networks and artificial intelligence, a problem that has already highlighted.
He was with an IMPOMPTU joke in English, in which he thanked journalists for their applause, but would not fall asleep with their comments. After having finished speaking, he descended the marble steps of the stage and crashed to the officials and some journalists, exchanging some words and signing autographs.
The Pope, who was born in Chicago, signed a baseball ball that someone held him. A woman on the line also asked Leo a selfie: a situation of her preachers would have faced in her first media outlet. Hi, courtly, he declined, shook his hand and moved on.
