Pope Leo asks media to show suffering of war, not amplify 'propaganda'

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, March 16 (Reuters) - Pope Leo urged journalists on Monday to highlight the suffering caused by war, cautioning against news reports that risk sliding into propaganda by glorifying conflicts or serving as "a megaphone" to amplify the voices of those in power.

In a meeting with broadcasters from Italy's TG2 television news programme, the pope made a direct appeal for reporters "to show the face of war and tell it through the eyes of the victims, so as not to turn it into a video game."

"In the dramatic circumstances of war, such as those we are experiencing, information must guard against the risk of turning into propaganda," said Leo, the first U.S. pope.

Journalists must work "in verifying the news so as not to become a megaphone of power," he said.

Leo did not mention a specific conflict on Monday, but he has been ramping up calls in recent days for an end to the expanding U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

On Sunday, he called for an immediate ceasefire to what he called the "atrocious violence" of the conflict, in some of his strongest remarks to date.

Leo's warning against depicting war like a video game echoed remarks from a senior United States church official earlier this month.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich sharply rebuked the White House for posting a video on social media featuring footage from the Iran war, spliced with scenes from video games and action films. Cupich called the video "sickening".