Pope Leo XIV’s papal plea for press freedom

Pope Leo XIV has called on global leaders to safeguard the right to free speech and a free press, ­demanding freedom for detained journalists around the world.

Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday during an audience with the world’s media. Picture: Reuters

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Pope Leo XIV has called on global leaders to safeguard the right to free speech and a free press, ­demanding freedom for detained journalists around the world.

Speaking in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican on Monday before several thousand journalists, most of whom covered the recent death of Pope Francis and the conclave, Pope Leo gave a short speech in which he said: “I reiterate the Church’s solidarity with journalists imprisoned for seeking and reporting of the truth, and with these words I also ask for these imprisoned journalists’ release.”

In Italian, he added: “The Church recognises in these witnesses, those who report on war at the cost of their lives, the courage of those defending dignity, ­justice and the right of people to be ­informed, because only ­informed individuals can make free choices.”

Pope Leo said the suffering of imprisoned journalists challenged the moral consciousness of nations and the international community, calling on leaders to safeguard the gift of free speech and a free press.

Pope Leo did not take questions, but took time to bless members of the Vatican’s staff and communications team. In scenes that were somewhat disrespectfully, some members of the media asked the Pope for selfies and ­autographs as he left the hall.

The press conference launched Leo’s first full week as leader of the world’s Catholics, with meetings with diplomats and top Vatican officials to follow.

His press conference was preceded by his first mass on Sunday and will be followed on Friday with an audience for foreign diplomats at the Vatican.

The Pope’s inauguration mass at St Peter’s Square on Sunday will be a far grander affair – his first public mass as Pope, to be ­attended by thousands of worshippers and world leaders.

The following week will see Leo’s first general audience, on May 21. Members of the public will be invited inside the Vatican for teachings and readings in different languages, after which the Pope will give a blessing. On May 24, the Pope will meet with the Roman Curia, over which he presides, the top officials and department heads running the government of the Holy See.

The world is still getting to know the modest and soft-spoken pontiff, born in Chicago, who spent much of his life in the priesthood as a missionary in Peru. ­Before making him a cardinal in 2023, Pope Francis entrusted Leo with the leadership of the ­Dicastery of Bishops, which ­advises the pontiff on bishop ­appointments.

As Pope, Leo will have to heal rifts within the Church, renew faith among the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics and address a host of modern-day challenges – including the fallout of the global sex abuse scandal.

Among the tens of thousands of faithful who came out to see him on Sunday, many said they were cheered by signs that Leo would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, seeking unity in a fractured world with an attention to the poor.

“He gives me a lot of hope just trying to bring about the universal language of love and peace for one another, especially in such a divided world that we have today,” Christina Morey, a 31-year-old American, said.

“I love that he is both continuing Francis’s path while also seeming to create his own and I’m really excited to see where that will go.”

Additional reporting: AFP