Pope Leo XIV today, Monday, May 12, spoke to some 2,000 journalists as he received the Vatican press corps in his first meeting with journalists since his election May 8, four days ago (Photo: @VaticanMedia)
“Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.” –Pope Leo XIV, speaking today to journalists (and therefore, also to me). He told all of us to try to find words that create a context for peace, a culture of discussion in which peace can sprout and grow. “Your service, with the words you use and the style you adopt, is crucial,” he said. “As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.”
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Letter #45, 2025, Monday, May 12: First Press Meeting
Four days ago, on Thursday, May 8, the papal conclave ended with white smoke at 6:07 in the evening.
An hour later, Pope Leo XIV, 69, stepped onto the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica — the first Pope from the United States of America. (Note: He also holds Peruvian citizenship, because he was a missionary, then a bishop, for some 20 years in Peru; therefore, it is, in a certain sense, a simplification to say he is “from the United States,” because he is from both the US and Peru, that is, from both North America and South America. Many in Rome are now saying that this is a key both to his identity as a man, and his election as the choice of the College of Cardinals.)
Leo XIV was elected on the 4th ballot, receiving, it is being reported in Italy, more than 100 votes from the 133 voting cardinals.
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This morning, Pope Leo met with the Vatican Press Corps in the Paul VI Audience Hall — his first meeting with the press since his election.
In his 11 a.m. remarks (link), Leo again spoke passionately, as he did yesterday from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, for peace in the world.
“Peace” was his first word as Pope on Thursday, May 8.
“Peace” was at the center of his message on Sunday, May 11.
“Peace” was at the center of his remarks this morning, May 12.
“In the Sermon on the Mount,” Leo told the journalists today (I was present), “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.”
The new Pope said this to the thousands of journalists who have been in Rome for weeks to cover the death of Pope Francis (on April 21), his funeral (on April 26), and the conclave that elected Leo (on May 8).
So the central word since the beginning of Leo’s pontificate, his central message, has been… peace.
First, the peace of the Risen Christ — for his very first words on the night he was elected were not his own, but Christ’s, a quotation of the first words of Christ to his disciples after His resurrection (John 20:21).
Again: the first words he spoke were not his own words, but Jesus’ words.
Here is the context of those words:
Jesus appeared to his disciples, John tells us in his Gospel, and spoke to them, as follows (John, Chapter 20, verses 20-22):
20 After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” 22 When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.…
Then, yesterday and today, Pope Leo spoke about peace again, as what all humanity longs for, rather than war.
Therefore, we may say that Pope Leo has spent his first days as Pope speaking of two types of peace, distinct yet deeply inter-related:
1) the spiritual peace of Christ’s resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in John’s Gospel; and
2) the physical peace in this world, which is a beatitude, a blessing, and is so sorely needed in our present time.
In this sense, Pope Leo may be seen, thus far, as the Pope of peace, of reconciliation, of the ending of war, of the coming of the great blessings of both spiritual (eternal, other-worldy) and physical (temporal, this-worldly) peace.
Below is the full text of what Pope Leo said today.
—RM
POPE LEO XIV
Address to Journalists
Paul VI Audience Hall
Vatican City
Monday, 12 May, 2025
(link)
Buongiorno (Good morning) and thank you for this wonderful reception!
They say that when they clap at the beginning, it does not matter much, if you are still awake at the end and you still want to applaud…thank you very much!
Brothers and sisters,
I welcome you, representatives of the media from around the world.
Thank you for the work you have done and continue to do in these days, which is truly a time of grace for the Church.
In the Sermon on the Mount, 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 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.
Let me, therefore, reiterate today the Church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for seeking to report the truth, and with these words I also ask for the release of these imprisoned journalists.
The Church recognizes in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives – the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices.
The 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.
Thank you, dear friends, for your service to the truth.
You have been in Rome these past few weeks to report on the Church, its diversity and, at the same time, its unity.
You were present during the liturgies of Holy Week and then reported on the sorrow felt over the death of Pope Francis, which nevertheless took place in the light of Easter.
That same Easter faith drew us into the spirit of the Conclave, during which you worked long and tiring days.
Yet, even on this occasion, you managed to recount the beauty of Christ’s love that unites and makes us one people, guided by the Good Shepherd.
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.
On the contrary, they demand that each one of us, in our different roles and services, never give in to mediocrity.
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. Saint Augustine reminds of this when he said, “Let us live well and the times will be good. We are the times” (Discourse 80.8).
Thank you, therefore, for what you have done to move beyond stereotypes and clichés through which we often interpret Christian life and the life of the Church itself.
Thank you because you have captured the essence of who we are and conveyed it to the whole world through every form of media possible.
Today, one of the most important challenges is to promote communication that can bring us out of the “Tower of Babel” in which we sometimes find ourselves, out of the confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan.
Therefore, your service, with the words you use and the style you adopt, is crucial.
As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.
In looking at how technology is developing, this mission becomes ever more necessary.
I am thinking in particular of artificial intelligence, with its immense potential, which nevertheless requires responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity.
This responsibility concerns everyone in proportion to his or her age and role in society.
Dear friends, we will get to know each other better over time.
We have experienced – we can say together – truly special days.
We have shared them through every form of media: TV, radio, internet, and social media.
I sincerely hope that each of us can say that these days unveiled a little bit of the mystery of our humanity and left us with a desire for love and peace.
For this reason, I repeat to you today the invitation made by Pope Francis in his message for this year’s World Day of Social Communications: let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression.
We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice.
Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.
Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity.
You are at the forefront of reporting on conflicts and aspirations for peace, on situations of injustice and poverty, and on the silent work of so many people striving to create a better world.
For this reason, I ask you to choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favor of peace.
Thank you all and may God bless you!
–Pope Leo XIV
May 12, 2025
Here below are some photos of Pope Leo, who is now 69, from past times.
These photos may be found at this link and this link.
I place them here with no comment… they speak for themselves.
–RM
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