Only four days have passed since his election to the papacy, and Pope Leo XIV made it a point to hold an audience with the men and women who were in Rome to report on the death of Pope Francis, the conclave, and the first days of his own ministry.
He met on Monday with media professionals in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, and thanked reporters in Italian for their tireless work over these intense few weeks.
Fostering peace
The newly-elected Pope began his remarks with a call for communication to foster peace by caring for how people and events are presented.
He invited media professionals to promote a different kind of communication, one that “does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it.”
“The way we communicate is of fundamental importance,” he said. “We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images; we must reject the paradigm of war.”
Solidarity with persecuted journalists
The Pope went on to reaffirm the Church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for reporting the truth, and he called for their release.
He said their suffering reminds the world of the importance of the freedom of expression and the press, adding that “only informed individuals can make free choices.”
Service to the truth
Pope Leo XIV then thanked reporters for their service to the truth, especially their work to present the Church in the “beauty of Christ’s love” during the recent interregnum period.
He commended their work to put aside stereotypes and clichés, in order to share with the world “the essence of who we are”.
Our times, he continued, present many issues that are difficult to recount and navigate, noting that they call each of us to overcome mediocrity.
Facing the challenges of our times
“The Church must face the challenges posed by the times,” he said. “In the same way, communication and journalism do not exist outside of time and history. Saint Augustine reminds of this when he said, ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times’.”
Pope Leo XIV said the modern world can leave us lost in a “confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan.”
The media, he said, must take up the challenge to lead the world out of such a “Tower of Babel,” through the words we use and the style we adopt.
“Communication is not only the transmission of information,” he said, “but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.”
AI demands responsibility and discernment
Pointing to the spread of artificial intelligence, the Pope said AI’s “immense potential” requires “responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity.”
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV repeated Pope Francis’ Message for the 2025 World Day of Social Communication.
“Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred,” he said. “Let us disarm words, and we will help disarm the world.”
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