VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV spoke in multiple languages in his appeal to media representatives to help the world escape the “Tower of Babel” that is disrupting global society.
The Washington Examiner was present when the pontiff called thousands of journalists together at Paul VI Hall in Vatican City on Monday. He encouraged them to reject the “confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan” and “strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs.”
However, before he reflected on the nature of polarizing media in the modern world, Leo, who is from Chicago, took a moment to offer a joke in his native English.
“Good morning and thank you for this wonderful reception!” he told the crowd after a standing ovation of welcome from the press. “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!”
While it’s not the first time the pope has spoken English in public, his American accent and flawless delivery brought smiles and looks of shock to an audience unaccustomed to a Midwesterner leading St. Peter’s court.
Leo ensured the Christian message was front and center in his speech, as he has in each appearance since being elected, invoking the seventh beatitude from the Gospel of Matthew.
“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ This is a Beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you [journalists], 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,” he said.
He offered particular praise for war correspondents and journalists in dangerous regions of the world, emphasizing “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,” Leo continued. “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.”
When the speech was finished, the pope offered the traditional apostolic blessing in Latin.
It was a notable departure from the late Pope Francis‘s tone in his initial meeting with journalists in 2013. Francis refrained from offering the apostolic blessing, saying it was a gesture “respecting the conscience” of non-Catholics.
“Given that many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I give this blessing from my heart, in silence, to each one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you, but knowing that each one of you is a child of God,” he said. “May God bless you.”
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Despite their differences in disposition, Leo has expressed immense respect for his predecessor and past popes such as Pope Benedict XVI, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Leo XIII.
The pope ascended into his office immediately upon accepting his election, but his investiture mass will take place on May 18.
