News (Proprietary)
Under glare of world's media, Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon on first foreign trip
3+ day, 10+ hour ago (1157+ words) Leo is fulfilling a trip Pope Francis planned to make, to mark an important anniversary with the Orthodox church in Turkey. In Lebanon, he'll try to boost a long-suffering Christian community as well as Lebanese of all faiths who are still demanding justice over the 2020 Beirut port blast. Leo, who spent 12 years as superior of his Augustinian religious order and two decades as a missionary in Peru, says he loves to travel. And in recent weeks, he has shown both diplomatic and linguistic dexterity in answering questions on the fly from reporters. The trip is being covered closely by U.S. media, with all major U.S. networks " ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox as well as CNN and the BBC " inside Leo's traveling pool, following his speeches, homilies and prayers at a crucial moment in negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine and maintain…...