Leo XIV meets the international media

Pope Leo XIV's invitation to the representatives of the media from all over the world gathered in Rome for the Conclave is that of a communication of peace. In his first official meeting with the world of the media, which took place on the 12th May in the Pope St Paul VI Hall of Vatican City, the Pontiff wanted to emphasize the importance of peace and disarmament, including verbal. 

Taking up the passage from the Beatitudes and specifically the peacemakers (Mt 5:9), Pope Leo invited all those present to feel "challenged" by these words, as it calls "everyone to the commitment to carry out a different communication, which does not seek consensus at all costs, does not clothe itself in aggressive words, does not espouse the model of competition,  it never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it. Peace begins with each of us [...]: we must reject the paradigm of war". 

The Pontiff then expressed solidarity with all those journalists imprisoned for trying to tell the truth, requesting their release: freedom of expression and of the press is an asset to be safeguarded that concerns everyone, he stressed. 

The Holy Father, after thanking all the journalists gathered in Rome not only for the Conclave, but already previously for Holy Week, Easter, and the farewell to Pope Francis, recalled how the current times are difficult to travel and to report, because they require "in our different roles and services, never to give in to mediocrity",  to get out of clichés, because "communication is not just the transmission of information, but it is the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and confrontation". 

Leo XIV concluded by quoting the Pope Francis' message for World Communications Day, to be held on the 1st June 2025: "Let us disarm communication of all prejudice, rancour, bigotry and hatred; Let's purify it of aggression. We don't need thunderous, muscular communication, but rather communication capable of listening, of picking up the voice of the weak who have no voice. Let us disarm words and we will help disarm the Earth. Disarming and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a way that is consistent with our human dignity." 

Read the full text of Pope Leo XIV's speech