Pope Leo XIV called for a kinder, gentler mass media, one that speaks up for those with no voice and in defense of free speech, and urged regimes around the world that jail journalists to set them free.

In his first address to international media on Monday, Pope Leo XIV thanked journalists for their service to the truth and for communicating peace in difficult times.

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV gave his first press conference at the Vatican, where he called for peace and free speech as he addressed over 6,000 journalists. As he was walking out and shaking hands with members of the press, the new pontiff, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, gave a very cryptic answer to a reporter’s question that named the U.S.

The pontiff held his first meeting with the news media at the Vatican and called on reporters to choose “the path of communication in favor of peace.”

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,” Pope Leo told members of the media on Monday.

The pope's older brother, Louis Prevost, is a regular poster of political content on his Facebook page ... much of it from a more conservative viewpoint. While there's nothing wrong with sharing a political opinion,

The 73-year-old Florida man appears to be a staunch Trump supporter who uses his Facebook account to go on the attack.

As the new pope settles in, his old tweets put him at odds with the Trump administration's immigration policies.