Campaigning journalists have called on the new American pope, Leo XIV, to back up his words in support of press freedom with strong action.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) an international non-profit organisation that lobbies on behalf of journalists worldwide, has called on the Pope “to maintain a strong, committed voice for press freedom and the protection of journalists everywhere.”
In his first audience with media representatives, Pope Leo called for the release of journalists imprisoned "for seeking to report the truth" and for safeguarding “the precious gift of free speech and of the press.” He expressed "the Church's solidarity" with unjustly jailed journalists.
This stance, says RSF, aligns with his predecessor's commitments and now requires more concrete action.
The organisation is calling on Pope Leo to:
Defend the right to inform, the right to access information and journalism’s role as a social good. RSF is calling on Pope Leo to issue a papal encyclical or official statement emphasising the importance of reliable information from a wide range of independent outlets.
Support journalists unjustly persecuted for their work. RSF is calling on Pope Leo XIV to visit imprisoned journalists around the world. Currently, 567 news professionals are imprisoned for their work, says RSF. It adds: “Similar visits by cardinal electors returning to their dioceses would also be a strong, important gesture.”
Help ease relations between journalists and the Vatican. RSF has called on the Holy See “to communicate the activities of the Catholic Church transparently and responsibly, particularly when it comes to finances, governance and abuses committed within the church.”
Promote the freedom to inform and of information integrity in the age of artificial intelligence. As generative AI is set to revolutionise the ‘information ecosystem’, RSF is calling on the new Pope to support safeguards for information integrity.
It states: “The Church, through its worldwide educational network, could promote media education and the development of critical thinking — necessary tools for learning to discern reliable information from manipulation.”
Support information for the voiceless and disadvantaged. At a time, says RSF, “when media discourse on migration is often distorted by anxiety-provoking, stigmatising or inhumane stories” the organisation is calling on the Pope “to support or co-sign international initiatives to promote coverage that is dignified, balanced and respectful of migrants’ rights.”
This, the lobbying group asserts, “would be consistent with the Vatican's serious commitment to this issue and send a strong signal in favour of human dignity, solidarity and the right to fair, non-discriminatory information.”
The new Pope’s impassioned plea for press freedom, made at the outset of his papal ministry, has sent a strong message to governments and regulators around the world. It has encouraged many groups working in support of journalists who have been jailed for their reporting.
Pope Leo’s predecessor, the late Pope Francis, issued a call for journalists to be ‘communicators of hope’ earlier this year.
In it, Pope Francis had urged all those involved in communications "to focus on beauty and hope even in the midst of apparently desperate situations" and to work to generate "commitment, empathy and concern for others".
He said: "Too often today, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred. All too often it simplifies reality to provoke instinctive reactions; it uses words like a razor; it even uses false or artfully distorted information to send messages designed to agitate, provoke or hurt."
Pope Francis said that communications needed to be "disarmed" and "purified of aggressiveness".
In the UK, St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street, London, is known as ‘the Journalists’ church’ with an altar dedicated to journalists who are jailed, missing or have died reporting the news.
The Anglican church, sited in the heart of the City of London, has produced the Journalists’ Prayer:
Almighty God, strengthen and direct, we pray,
the will of all whose work it is to write what many read,
and to speak where many listen.
May we be bold in confronting evil and injustice,
and compassionate in our understanding of human weakness,
rejecting alike the half-truth that deceives,
and the slanted word that corrupts.
May the power that is ours, for good or ill,
always be used with honesty and courage,with respect and integrity;
so that when all here has been written, said, and done,
we may, unashamed, meet Thee face to face,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
