{"id":137222,"date":"2025-05-13T02:17:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T02:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-news-media-to-shun-divisive-language-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2025-05-13T02:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T02:17:58","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-news-media-to-shun-divisive-language-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-news-media-to-shun-divisive-language-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV Calls for News Media to Shun Divisive Language – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo XIV<\/span><\/span><\/span>
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In his first audience with journalists as the pontiff, Leo renewed pleas for a more peaceful world. He also spoke to Ukraine\u2019s president on Monday.
By <\/span>Matthew Mpoke Bigg<\/a>
Reporting from Vatican City
Pope Leo XIV used his first audience with news outlets on Monday to appeal to journalists to help cool the heated language of today\u2019s media landscape.
The comments once again echoed some of the themes highlighted by his predecessor, Pope Francis, as Leo backed a free press to enable informed decisions and renewed his calls for a more peaceful world.
\u201cLet us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression,\u201d Leo told more than 1,000 journalists, including the Vatican press corps, who were gathered in an auditorium. \u201cWe do not need loud, forceful communication but rather communication that is capable of listening,\u201d he added, delivering his address in Italian.
In comments that were likely to win him points with his audience, Leo spoke of the need for people to be informed in order to make sound decisions and of \u201cthe precious gift of free speech and of the press.\u201d
Leo took the stage to a rapturous ovation from members of the news media, some of whom will report on his papacy and others who were in Rome to cover the death and funeral of Francis as well as the conclave that elected the new pope.
Leo\u2019s address to the news media, a papal tradition, was frequently interrupted by applause. He began with an impromptu joke in English, thanking journalists for their applause but saying he hoped they would not fall asleep during his remarks.
The last five popes have held audiences<\/a> with the media early in their papacies. Leo, the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.4 billion faithful, has spent his first days<\/a> as pope pledging to align himself with \u201cordinary people\u201d and decrying aggression and conflict. As Vatican observers watch for clues on how he plans to lead, Leo has already evoked Francis, who spoke out tirelessly<\/a> for the marginalized, several times. He did so again on Monday.
In the pope\u2019s remarks, which lasted around 10 minutes, Leo called for the release of journalists who had been imprisoned for their work. At least 550 journalists were being held across the world as of December, according to Reporters Without Borders<\/a>, a nonpartisan organization that works to protect journalists.
Leo said that the church viewed imprisoned journalists as witnesses. \u201cI am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives \u2014 the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices,\u201d he said.
\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.
Leo also mentioned the challenges posed by social media and artificial intelligence, issues that he has previously highlighted<\/a>.
After he had finished speaking, the pope descended the marble steps from the stage and shook hands with officials and some journalists, exchanging a few words and signing autographs.
Leo, who was born in Chicago, signed a baseball that someone held out to him. A woman in the line asked him for a selfie \u2014 a situation few of his predecessors would have faced in their first media outing. He politely declined, shook her hand and moved on.
The early days of Leo\u2019s papacy have contained clues for how closely he might align with the agenda set by his predecessor. He has spoken of the need to continue dialogue between church leaders and lay people, a cornerstone of Francis\u2019 papacy.
And on Monday, he spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, the president wrote on social media.
Francis often discussed the war and called for peace in Ukraine, although some Ukrainians criticized him, saying that he had not initially identified Russia clearly enough as the aggressor.
In his first Sunday blessing as pope, Leo called for an authentic, just and lasting peace in the country as well as for the release of prisoners.
Mr. Zelensky said that he had also requested the pope\u2019s help in securing the return of thousands of Ukrainian children who had been illegally deported to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The International Criminal Court announced in March 2023 that it had issued arrest warrants<\/a> for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and another senior Russian official for war crimes in connection with the deportations. Russia has defended moving the children on humanitarian grounds.
Mr. Zelensky said he had informed the pope of Ukraine\u2019s willingness to began a 30-day cease-fire immediately, reiterated that the government in Kyiv would engage in direct negotiations with Russia, and invited Leo to visit his country.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a London-based reporter on the Live team at The Times, which covers breaking and developing news.
Call for Peace: <\/strong>In his first audience with the press as pontiff, Leo renewed his pleas for a more peaceful world<\/a>\u00a0and quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had called for communication that is free from aggression.
\u00a0Celebrating a Homegrown Pope: <\/strong>In Chicago, New Orleans and beyond, elated worshipers and priests celebrated<\/a>\u00a0their immediate sense of connection with Pope Leo.
Echoing Francis in First Mass: <\/strong>In Pope Leo XIV\u2019s advocacy of the poor, migrants and a more open church, many people see the new pope as a continuation of his predecessor<\/a>.
Seeing the First American Pope as Hardly American:<\/strong>\u00a0Catholics around the world were skeptical at first about an American pope. But the pope\u2019s\u00a0multicultural and multilingual identity has put them at ease<\/a>.
Creole Roots in New Orleans: <\/strong>The selection of Robert Francis Prevost as the first pope from the United States, and the subsequent revelation of his Creole roots, have brought historical realities to the fore<\/a>. Historical records trace the story of the pope\u2019s mother\u2019s family<\/a>\u00a0and their diverse background before moving to Chicago.
Locals in Chiclayo Cheer the \u2018Peruvian Pope\u2019: <\/strong>From delivering help to flood-ravaged regions to singing Christmas songs to blessing babies, the pope tried to be a cleric of the people in Peru<\/a>.
Chicago Pope Spurs Memes: <\/strong>Chicago, a uniquely meme-able city, was the center of a ton of jokes. Here is some of the internet\u2019s best work<\/a>.
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Pope Leo XIVAdvertisementSupported byIn his first audience with journalists as the pontiff, Leo renewed pleas for a more peaceful world. He also spoke to Ukraine\u2019s president on Monday.By Matthew Mpoke BiggReporting from Vatican CityPope Leo XIV used his first audience with news outlets on Monday to appeal to journalists to help cool the heated language […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}