Pope Leo XIV shakes hands during an audience with representatives of the media in Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, on May 12.Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
In his first address to the media, Pope Leo XIV made an impassioned plea for the release of imprisoned journalists and called on the media to avoid amplifying the voices of hatred and fanaticism.
“The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press,” he said Monday morning from the Vatican’s vast audience hall four days after he was elected Pope. “The Church recognizes in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives – the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed.”
The former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost also made an appeal for seeking the truth and urged the media to not neglect the poor and powerless in their reporting. “Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred. Let us free it from aggression,” he said. “We do not need loud and forceful communication – rather, communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice.”
Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV, first American to hold papacy in Catholic Church’s history
The Chicago-born prelate spoke in Italian for most of his fairly short speech, but he started in English for a bit of droll entertainment after the audience broke into thunderous applause as he stepped onstage. “They say that when they clap at the beginning, it doesn’t matter much,” he said. “If you’re still awake at the end and still want to applaud, then thank you very much.”
After his speech, a reporter asked Leo, who plays tennis, if he would like to play against Andre Agassi. “Just don’t bring Sinner,” he replied, referring to Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner.
The day before, in his Sunday midday blessing at St. Peter’s Square, Leo called for peace in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian relief for the “exhausted civilian population and all hostages freed.”
Pope Leo XIV called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff.
The Associated Press
On Monday, Hamas announced that the last known living American hostage, Edan Alexander, 21, who was serving in the Israeli infantry when he was captured during the Oct. 7 attacks, would be released. At the same time, a new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger scale used by the United Nations, said half a million residents of Gaza are facing starvation. Israel has prevented any aid from entering the territory for more than two months.
In his first week as Pope, Leo is already preparing his debut overseas voyage. After his Monday speech, he told reporters he would fulfill a commitment made by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died last month at age 88, to visit the ancient Turkish town of Nicaea, now known as Iznik, in the northwest part of the country. There he will celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, the council of Christian bishops convened by Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.
On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky phoned Leo to invite him to Ukraine. The Ukrainian President then used a post on Telegram to say, “Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers, to all our people,” adding that the call was “very warm and substantive.”
In an interview with The Globe and Mail on the weekend, Michael Czerny, one of the 133 cardinal electors in the remarkably fast, 24-hour conclave that chose Leo, praised the new Pope. “He is thoughtful, well prepared and wise,” he said. “Francis was very good at launching processes, and Leo will see them through. … Leo’s first words as Pope were ‘Peace,’ and that is his basic message.”
Cardinal Czerny and the rest of the cardinals took an oath of secrecy before entering the conclave last Wednesday and could not reveal the details of the voting process, such as who the leaders were after the first three of the four votes. “Leo had a cluster of good qualities,” he said. “He was the one that God was indicating to us.”
With a report from Reuters