Volodymyr Zelenskyy invites Pope Leo Xiv to join Ukraine as the new pope urges journalists to end the polarized "verbal war".

The Ukrainian president revealed in an article in a telegram on Monday that he had spoken with Leo, the first American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, as the new Pontiff is addressing thousands of journalists in the Vatican.

"I invite His Holiness to conduct an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit will bring real hope to all believers, all of us," Zelenskyy said. He described the call as "very warm and genuine substantive."

The pope received a buzz from thousands of journalists who first appeared in the media in the hall of Paul VI and then joked in English, hoping they would stay awake during the meeting.

Turning to Italian, he thanked journalists for reporting on the death of his predecessor Francis and the Pope’s Council, while reminding them that “the way we communicate is crucial”.

"We must say 'no' to wars of words and images, and we must reject the paradigm of war," Leo said. Leo urged journalists to focus on reporting truths rather than participating in partisan divisions.

One of the most important challenges, he added, is promoting communication, which can help us get rid of the “confusing confusion of language that is often ideology or partisan”.

The 69-year-old new pope also called for the release of journalists imprisonment for work, saying their suffering “challenges the conscience of the state and the international community” and “needs to safeguard free freedom of speech and a valuable gift from the press.”

Leo also said that journalists must use artificial intelligence with "responsibility and discernment".

The reporter had no chance to raise the Pope Leo question during the audience, which lasted about half an hour. Some have been hoping to learn more about how church plans under the church can address some of the key issues, including a wide range of paperwork sexual abuse.

In his first Sunday address on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the pope called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and immediately ceasefire in Gaza while pleading for an end to global conflict, similar to the late Pope Francis, who bubjör “World War III.”

He also welcomed the truce between India and Pakistan and ended in 1945 World War II.

Pope Leo will hold his inauguration at 10 a.m. on May 18, and is expected to be attended by world leaders and his first pope audience on May 21.

One of his first public appearances over the weekend was a visit to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome to the Tomb of Francis.