Pope Leo tells media to shun divisions, urges release of jailed reporters

By Philip Pullella and Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to the media, on Monday, urged journalists to focus on reporting the truth instead of engaging in partisan divisions and called for the release of reporters jailed for doing their jobs.

"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," Leo told thousands of journalists who covered his election and the death of his predecessor Pope Francis.

He also spoke up for jailed journalists who, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, numbered 361 at the end of last year.

"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," said the pope.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first pope born in the U.S. He was elected as the new Catholic pontiff on May 8 and is a relatively unknown figure on the global stage, spending most of his career as a missionary in Peru.

The pontiff also told the journalists they must act responsibly in using artificial intelligence in their work, asking them to "ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity."

Monday's meeting was Leo's first audience with a large group of people at the Vatican. Coming into the Vatican's large audience hall, he was greeted with applause from the journalists.

The pope spoke mainly in Italian, but opened with a joke in English about the clapping.

"Thank you for this wonderful reception," said Leo. "They say that when they clap at the beginning, it doesn't matter much. If you're still awake at the end and still want to applaud, thank you very much."

(Reporting by Philip Pullella and Joshua McElwee, Editing by Giulia Segreti and Andrew Cawthorne)