A Newsmax reporter had asked the question of Pope Leo at the pontiff's audience with journalists in the Vatican on Monday. Leo is the first-ever pope born in the U.S. His comments on social media around immigration in particular have caught attention, and raise the possibility future clashes with the Trump Administration.

Then he did something notably uncharacteristic of Pope Francis. He sang. “Hallelujah,” he intoned reverently, in Latin. The moment spoke to an evolving truth. As much as Leo has echoed Francis since his dramatic debut on the central balcony Thursday,

Pope Leo XIV appealed to the world's major powers for "no more war", in his first Sunday message to crowds in St. Peter's Square since his election as pontiff. The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an "authentic and lasting peace" in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages.