After a furious start to 2026 which saw Pope Leo XIV close the Holy Year opened by his predecessor, convene the world's cardinals in Rome and deliver perhaps the most pointed speech of his pontificate yet on the urgency of peace, the pope has since grown noticeably quieter on the world stage.
For U.S. Catholics in particular, that has meant an absence of English-language papal soundbites from nightly newscasts and social media feeds.
Following months in which Leo weighed in on the day's events by speaking near weekly to reporters upon leaving the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, the pope has sharply pulled back from directly engaging with the press.
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