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In his first audience with the press as pontiff, Leo renewed his pleas for a more peaceful world and quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had called for communication that is free from aggression.
May 12, 2025Updated 8:06 a.m. ET
Pope Leo XIV used his first audience with the press on Monday to appeal to journalists to help cool the heated language of today’s media landscape, as he renewed his calls for a more peaceful world.
Echoing some thoughts from his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo called for the use of moderate language in presenting facts to the world.
“Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression,” Leo told more than 1,000 journalists, including the Vatican Press corps, who gathered in an auditorium in Vatican City on Monday. “We do not need loud, forceful communication but rather communication that is capable of listening,” he added, delivering his address in Italian.
In words that were likely to win him points with his audience, he also spoke of the need for people to be informed in order to make sound decisions and of “the precious gift of free speech and of the press.”
The newly elected pope took the stage to a rapturous ovation from members of the news media, some of whom will continue to report on his papacy, and some who flew in to spend days and weeks reporting on the death and funeral of Francis, as well as the conclave that elected Leo. Leo’s address, a papal tradition, was frequently interrupted by applause.
The last five popes have held audiences with the media in the first days of their papacy. The event reflects the Vatican’s recognition of the value of public communication and its desire to have a good relationship with the news media that reports on it.
