International
Pope Leo XIV asks journalists: Let’s disarm the words and help disarm the Earth
Pope Leo XIV asked the media on Monday to choose “with conscience and courage the path of a communication of peace” and added: “Let’s disarm the words and help disarm the Earth,” in the audience he granted to journalists who have reported on the conclave in which he was elected.
In the first audience he celebrates, as Francis also did at the beginning of his pontificate, the first American pope gathered in the Paul VI classroom of the Vatican several thousand communicators to whom he pointed out that “we live in difficult times to navigate and count, which pose a challenge for all of us and from which we must not escape.”
And, he stressed, that “on the contrary, they ask each of us, in our different roles and services, to never surrender to mediocrity.”
Leo XIV said that “what is needed is not a noisy and muscular communication, but a communication capable of listening, of collecting the voice of the weak who have no voice.”
“Let’s disarm the words and help disarm the Earth. Unarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different vision of the world and act in a manner consistent with our human dignity,” said the pope, who in his first speech after being elected on May 8 also called for “an unarmed and disarming peace.”
And he added: “You are on the front line narrating conflicts and hopes for peace, situations of injustice and poverty, and the silent work of many for a better world. For this I ask you to choose with conscience and courage the path of a communication of peace.”
“There can be no communication or journalism outside of time and history,” he said and recalled St. Augustine’s phrase, since he is Augustinian: “Let’s live well and times will be good. We are the times.”
To the journalists, who applauded at various moments of the speech, he explained that today, “one of the most important challenges is to promote a communication capable of helping us escape from the ‘Tower of Babel’ in which we sometimes find ourselves, from the confusion of loveless languages, often ideological or biased”
And therefore he stressed that “the words they use and the style they adopt, is important.” Communication, in fact, is not only the transmission of information, but the creation of a culture, human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and confrontation,” he added.
And above all, he stressed the technological evolution and artificial intelligence “that with its immense potential, which requires, however, responsibility and discernment to guide the tools to the good of all, so that they can produce benefits for humanity.”
Leo XIV was greeted at the entrance of the Paul VI classroom with a loud applause by the journalists and joked saying that he hoped that the applause would also come at the end of his speech.
Pope Leo XIV after his message greeted some of them in a relaxed way, confirmed some news such as the trip to Nicea and, in dubious moments of protocol, responded jokingly: “I’m still learning.”
When asked if he wanted to participate in a charity tennis tournament that the Pontifical Mission Societies is preparing, Leo XIV jokingly said that he could participate “as long as you don’t bring (Jannick) Sinner”, about the double meaning both because the Italian is number one in the world and because his English surname means ‘sinner’.
While to others who proposed a double, he confessed: “I’m not that good.”
Leo XIV showed his sense of humor when he wanted a photo taken with a journalist who had dressed in white without “intention of wanting to be a pope,” although she refused to take a ‘selfie’ with another communicator.
The pope also called for the release of imprisoned journalists and urged to “safeguard the precious good of freedom of expression and press.”
Before several thousand journalists gathered in the Paul VI classroom, in which it is the first audience of his pontificate, the first American pope wanted to “reiterate the solidarity of the Church with the imprisoned journalists for seeking and reporting the truth” and “asking for their release.”
“The Church recognizes in these testimonies – I think of those who tell the war even at the cost of their own lives – the courage of those who defend the dignity, justice and the right of peoples to be informed, because only informed peoples can make free decisions,” said Robert Francis Prevost in his message.
And he added: “The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community and calls on us all to safeguard the precious good of freedom of expression and of the press.”
In addition, Leo XIV confirmed that the trip that Francis had planned to Nicea, Turkey, at the end of May to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Christian Council is being prepared.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
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