VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to the media, on Monday, urged journalists to focus on reporting the truth instead of engaging in partisan divisions and called for the release of reporters jailed for doing their jobs.
“The way we communicate is of fundamental importance: we must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war,” Leo told thousands of journalists who covered his election and the death of his predecessor Pope Francis.
He also spoke up for jailed journalists who, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, numbered 361 at the end of last year.
“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,” said the pope.
The pontiff also told the journalists they must act responsibly in using artificial intelligence in their work, asking them to “ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity.”
Monday’s meeting was Leo’s first audience with a large group of people at the Vatican. Coming into the Vatican’s large audience hall, he was greeted with applause from the journalists.
The pope spoke mainly in Italian, but opened with a joke in English about the clapping.
“Thank you for this wonderful reception,” said Leo. “They say that when they clap at the beginning, it doesn’t matter much. If you’re still awake at the end and still want to applaud, thank you very much.”
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first pope born in the US. He was elected as the new Catholic pontiff on May 8 and is a relatively unknown figure on the global stage, spending most of his career as a missionary in Peru.
In New York on Sunday, excitement rippled through New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the first since an American was picked to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
At Sunday Mass, the landmark, Gothic-style church – the focal point of Catholicism in the most populous U.S. city – was brimming with worshippers eager to celebrate the unexpected achievement of Chicago native Robert Prevost.
Many were happy to share their thoughts on the new pontiff and the variety of ways they could relate to him personally.
On the steps leading to the cathedral gates, Patrick Sheridan, who came to the Mass from New Jersey, stood alongside his wife Mary. The couple were elated to learn that the new pope was a graduate of Philadelphia’s Villanova University, the same school many of their family members attended.
“We were extremely excited when we heard about it,” Patrick Sheridan said.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, was still in Rome on Sunday after the pope’s selection, Monsignor Joseph LaMorte, the archdiocese’s vicar general, told parishioners during Mass.
LaMorte, who is Dolan’s deputy, said he was keen to meet with the cardinal when he returns to New York.
“We can’t wait to hear some of the stories that he’s allowed to talk about,” LaMorte said. “You know the secrecy of the conclave is very, very serious.”
Jason Graham, speaking outside the cathedral, said having an American Pope could help improve the image of the United States abroad.
“Our country’s not looking so great, especially with the current administration,” Graham said, referring to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other policies that are unpopular in other countries.
“But I think that (the new pope) is a positive influence for America, and I think he’s going to have a positive impact on how other people in the world will see America,” he said.
