Pope Leo XIV made a comment that is being taken as a dig at Trump.
In an article entitled "Pope Leo praises work of journalists in first public comments on clerical abuse scandal," CNN reported on Saturday about some of the new religious leader's comments.
"In this time of profound institutional and social tensions, defending free and ethical journalism is not only an act of justice, but a duty of all those who yearn for a solid and participatory democracy,” he said, according to CNN's reporting. “Wherever a journalist is silenced, the democratic soul of a country is weakened. Freedom of the press is an inalienable common good. Those who conscientiously exercise this vocation cannot see their voices silenced by petty interests or fear of the truth.”
This was seen by some as an attack on Trump, who has consistently tangled with the media, which he calls the "fake news."
"Pope Leo XIV made a pointed remark about the dangers of inhibiting the freedom of the press," according to the Daily Beast. The outlet's new piece is called, "Pope Leo Trolls Trump With Rebuke of Attacks on Journalists."
The Beast added, "Leo didn’t explicitly mention Donald Trump."
"But the American president, whom Leo has taken shots at in the past, has made a number of controversial moves against his country’s journalists since returning to office in January," the outlet noted.
"Trump has barred the Associated Press from the White House press pool, sicced the FCC on news outlets he dislikes, and gutted the government-funded broadcaster Voice of America," it elaborated.