Pope Leo XIV received a phone call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the morning of March 16 about the living conditions of Palestinians and “alarming developments in the conflict in the Middle East,” according to the Holy See Press Office. The same day, Pope Leo gave an address in which he urged journalists reporting on war to portray it truthfully — through the eyes of its victims — and warned not to report it in a way that turns such conflict “into a videogame.”
The messages come amid escalating concerns for communities in the West Bank and the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, a conflict for which Pope Leo has repeatedly called for a ceasefire.
“During the conversation [with Abbas], the Holy Father reaffirmed the Holy See’s commitment to achieving peace through political and diplomatic dialogue, as well as through full respect for international law,” the office added. No further details were released.
That morning, Pope Leo met with the editorial team of the TG2 news program by Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italy’s national public broadcaster, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary for the TG2 news program. In his brief address, the Pontiff noted journalism’s shift from analog to digital media and commended the company for “understanding that no technological innovation can replace creativity, critical discernment and freedom of thought.”
He also praised the outlet for using a plurality of sources for its information and remaining open to collaboration and its “diverse cultural perspectives,” which have offered an example of dialogue “in an age dominated by polarization, ideological closed-mindedness and slogans that prevent us from seeing and understanding the complexity of reality.”
Pope Leo concluded by advising the media to be especially discerning when reporting amid wartime.
“Always, but especially in the dramatic circumstances of war, such as those we are currently experiencing, the media must guard against the risk of becoming propaganda,” he said. “And the task of journalists, in verifying the news so as not to become a mouthpiece for those in power, becomes even more urgent and delicate — I would say essential.”
“It is up to you to show the sufferings that war always brings to the people; to show the face of war and to relate it through the eyes of the victims, so as not to transform it into a videogame,” he added. “It is not easy in the few minutes of a news programme and its in-depth segments. But this is the challenge.”
The Pontiff’s remarks come several days after Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich condemned a White House social media post trivializing its strikes in Iran by combining footage of the war with action movie scenes and warned against gamifying the violence, as Zeale News reported.
The cardinal noted that hundreds of people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, adding that the social media post was also dishonorable to the U.S. servicemembers who have died in the war.