Pope Leo XIV Meets With Journalists Emphasizing the Role of Communications in Promoting Peace
In one of the first audiences of his young pontificate, Pope Leo XIV met with the international media in Aula Paulo VI. He thanked journalists for their service to the truth and stressed the role of communications in promoting peace.
“We are living in times that are both difficult to navigate and to recount. They present a challenge for all of us, but it is one that we should not run away from,” the pope said to approximately ____ journalists on May 12. “On the contrary, they demand that each one of us, in our different roles and services, never give in to mediocrity.”
“Thank you, dear friends, for your service to the truth,” he said, also underlining the importance of preserving free speech and the free press.
Using St. Augustine, the pope highlighted the place of communications: “The Church must face the challenges posed by the times. In the same way, communication and journalism do not exist outside of time and history. St. Augustine reminds of this when he said, ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times’ (Discourse 311).”
Using the Sermon on the Mount, the pope stressed the important role communications plays in promoting peace: “Jesus proclaimed, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt 5:9). This is a beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you, calling each one of you to strive for 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.”
“Peace,” he continued, “begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others, and speak about others. In this sense, 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.”
The pope raised up the responsibility and discernment needed in the use of artificial intelligence. He earlier explained his choice of the regnant name Leo being influenced by the challenges AI presents.
On the topic of truth, Leo XIV reiterated the Church’s solidarity with journalists who have been imprisoned “for seeking and reporting the truth” and said their suffering "challenges the conscience of nations and the international community." He appealed for their release. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 361 journalists were in jail in 2024.
The Order’s leadership in communications gathered in Rome for a three-part meeting of on-going formation, Jubilee celebration, and discussion among themselves of how to serve the Order and the faithful in the future. A two-part follow-up online meeting is scheduled for May 21st.
The pope began the audience speaking in English. He thanked the journalists for the warm reception and then said, “They say when they clap at the beginning it doesn’t matter much… If you are still awake at the end, and still want to applaud, … Thank you very much!”
