As Pope Leo XIV walked through a crowd at the Vatican on Monday, NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman asked the new pontiff if he had “any message for the United States.” “Many,” Leo replied with a smile. Then, after a short pause, he added: “God bless you all.”

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.

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.