Pope Leo XIV is vowing to actively promote and protect the spirituality and traditions of the eastern rite churches, those Catholic communities with origins in the Middle East and North Africa that have been decimated by conflict and persecution.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic Church, pledged on Wednesday to make "every effort" for peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was "never inevitable".

The new pontiff — the first from the United States — was elected on May 8 Pope Leo XIV held an audience with journalists and members of the media on May 12 He spoke about the importance of the press,