Pope Leo XIV made a point to express his support for the free press, firing a stray at President Trump—whose ongoing White House ban on MS NOW, CNN, and Politico is still being legally contested.
“I’m just wondering if you had a word for some of our colleagues at CNN who are having difficulties with the White House,” a reporter asked the pope on Friday while en route to France.
“I am very happy that here, you are all welcome,” Pope Leo replied. “Good coverage … I think it’s important that we have it all the way around, for everyone.”
Pope Leo reaffirmed his support for freedom of the press after being asked about President Trump’s decision to bar several news outlets from the White House.
Speaking to reporters aboard a flight from Rome to Paris, Leo said press coverage was “very important.”
The White House… pic.twitter.com/JP6JRC3NMA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 25, 2026
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily reinstated the outlets’ access for a two-week period starting Thursday morning—an order that the Trump administration defied twice the same day.
The first American pope has been quite talkative this week. He also criticized AI and the damage it has inflicted on the human essence on Friday, stating that “it cannot answer questions that concern the meaning of life, which is rooted in lived experience.” He has also long criticized the Trump administration’s current war on Iran, which notably sparked a threat from the Pentagon in April.
Pope Leo XIV on ethics of AI: “It cannot answer questions that concerns the meaning of life, which is rooted in lived experience.” pic.twitter.com/SoJ6w6CRX5
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 25, 2026
