Pope Leo XIV Calls On US To Safeguard Free Speech and Free Press

May 14, 2025 05:06 PM EDT, Wed

Pope Leo celebrates ‘the precious gift of free speech and of the press’

The new pope’s call for an end to “prejudice, resentment, fanaticism and even hatred” seems tailor-made to MAGA’s media excesses.

May 12, 2025, 3:44 PM EDT By Ja’han Jones

In some of his first public remarks since being elevated to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV denounced the jailing of journalists and the use of the media to pit people against one another. And though the pope didn’t drop names, his remarks offer a clear rebuke of the partisan, dehumanizing and manipulative tendencies that characterize the MAGA movement’s approach to the media.

According to The New York Times, the pope told journalists Monday:

‘Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression,’ Leo told more than 1,000 journalists, including the Vatican press corps, who were gathered in an auditorium. ‘We do not need loud, forceful communication but rather communication that is capable of listening,’ 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 ‘the precious gift of free speech and of the press.’

The pope also called for the release of jailed journalists:

Leo said that the church viewed imprisoned journalists as 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,’ he said. ‘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,’ he said.

Prior to his promotion, then-Cardinal Robert Prevost shared a tweet tweet critical of Vice President JD Vance’s tribalistic tendencies, so it’s fair to wonder whether the pope’s remarks may have come in response to the political divisions Trump has helped inflame in the United States. But I tend to agree with the proposition that we don’t need to view every declaration from the pope through the lens of U.S. politics (even if he is the first American pope).

That said, President Donald Trump — boasted about his support from American Catholics — might do well to heed the first American pope’s sermon.

The president has openly, and repeatedly, called for the jailing of journalists he disagrees with, while he has used his own social media platform to sow chaos, misinformation and bigotry. His administration detained an academic researcher for no other reason than that the person had written an op-ed criticizing Israel. President Trump told the Justice Department that news outlets (including MSNBC that air reporting critical of him are “illegal”; on the campaign trail, he claimed he wouldn’t mind if a would-be assassin tried to “shoot through” the media to get him; he publicly mused on the sexual assault of journalists in prisons; and his Justice Department has protections for journalists in a move that critics say could subject reporters to jail time.

All this is to say: Whether or not Pope Leo was thinking specifically of Trump, the masterminds behind the MAGA movement’s misuse of mass media would do well to take his message to heart.

Ja’han Jones Ja’han Jones is an MSNBC opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. He is a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include “Black Hair Defined” and the “Black Obituary Project.”

Audience of the Holy Father Leo XIV to representatives of the media (12 May 2025) / LEO XIV

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

Audience Hall Monday, 12 May 2025

[Multimedia]

Good morning and thank you for this wonderful reception! They say 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 recognises 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 favour of peace.

Thank you all and may God bless you!

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