First Apostolic Journey of Leo XIV. The press? Nowhere to be found

Rome - “More than this, I prefer not to comment,” “In Africa to confirm in the faith and to reach the places of Saint Augustine,” “I firmly believe in the Conclave’s secret.” The first press conference of Leo XIV aboard the papal plane is a manifesto for a press corps that, for years, had grown accustomed to remarks such as “perverse homosexuality,” “They bark at Russia’s gates,” “If you insult my mom, a punch is waiting for you,” “In the Conclave what happened was…”The American Pontiff shifts the register and brings the Papacy back into a space of prudence, spirituality, and courtesy.
The first international Apostolic Journey of Leo XIV has just concluded, marked by departure from Lebanon—the final stage of a visit defined bypublic gestures of care and a message of hope addressed to the Lebanese faithful. Between Beirut, Annaya, and Harissa, the Pope met wounded communities, praying before the memorial of the great 2020 explosion, laying wreaths, greeting survivors and …