Pope Leo XIV requires peace and press freedom in his first information briefing

Pope Leo XIV made an impassioned plea for peace and expressed solidarity with imprisoned journalists in his first information briefing since turning into pontiff on Monday, calling for “the valuable present of free speech and of the press” to be protected.

Leo, the primary pope born in america, who’s a twin citizen of the U.S. and Peru, entered the Vatican auditorium to a standing ovation and thundering applause as he gave his first handle in entrance of some 6,000 journalists. The 69-year-old Augustinian thanked the crowed in English earlier than studying out his assertion in Italian.

“Let me, due to this fact, reiterate immediately the Church’s solidarity with journalists who’re imprisoned for in search of and reporting the reality whereas additionally asking for his or her launch,” Leo mentioned. He additionally urged journalists to keep away from “ideological or partisan” language.

“We do not want loud, forceful communication,” he mentioned, “However fairly communication that’s able to listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who don’t have any voice.”

Synthetic intelligence, which he earlier mentioned performed a job in choice of his papal identify, needs to be used with “accountability and discernment,” he mentioned.

Leo, who was elected in a 24-hour conclave final week, ended his assertion calling for journalists to decide on the “path of communication in favor of peace” and shook arms with a number of the attendees. He didn’t take questions, as is often the case in papal press conferences. Leo’s predecessor, Francis, additionally declined to take questions in his first press convention in 2013.

Leo’s remarks got here as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned he spoke with the newly elected pope for the primary time on Monday and mentioned a 30-day ceasefire proposed by allies that Moscow is but to just accept, and abduction of Ukrainian kids by Russia.

The dialog was “very heat and really substantive,” Zelenskyy mentioned on Telegram, including that he had invited Leo to Ukraine.

Leo’s phrases echoed his first Sunday blessing as pontiff earlier than an estimated 100,000 folks when he referred to as for a long-lasting peace in Ukraine and a right away ceasefire and launch of hostages in Gaza.

“By no means once more struggle!” Leo mentioned from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Watching him ship the Sunday prayers from a close-by rooftop was his brother John, who arrived from Chicago on Saturday. “Looks like he is been doing this for a very long time as a result of he is not nervous,” he instructed NBC Information’ Lester Holt.

“It does look like he was made for this function,” he mentioned.