Pope Leo XIV Affirms Need For Media To Cover Public Figures When Asked About Trump Ban

Pope Leo XIV told reporters travelling with him to France that they were welcome aboard, responding to a question about the Trump administration's attempt to bar CNN and other outlets from the White House. CNN, MS NOW and Politico had been barred before a judge granted them a reprieve, letting them back in Thursday even as the broader standoff with the administration continued.

On the day the ban briefly lifted, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was visiting Washington for a state dinner that CNN and MS NOW said their journalists were denied access to, and no major American network carried live coverage. Leo separately apologized to reporters for a scheduling incident during an earlier trip, saying he had nothing to do with a decision to fly home on Spain's king's jet instead of the press charter.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.