LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Tens of thousands of people filled St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to witness the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
FADEL: Leo is the first American to lead the Catholic Church. He promised to protect the Catholic tradition. And in a gesture of humility, he said, I was chosen without any merit of my own.
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POPE LEO XIV: (Speaking Italian).
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Speaking in Italian, Leo added, I come to you as a brother who wants to be a servant. He spoke of a world reconciled
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LEO XIV: (Speaking Italian).
INSKEEP: Having said that, Leo was like his predecessor, Pope Francis, in offering strong views on divisive issues. Leo criticized a world economic system that exploits the Earth's resources and sidelines the poorest.
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LEO XIV: (Speaking Italian).
INSKEEP: Our correspondent Ruth Sherlock heard a few of the responses from the crowd at St. Peter's. Among them, Joel McMichael (ph), who's a seminarian from Texas.
JOEL MCMICHAEL: I'm hopeful for he's wanting to address issues of media and AI and these kind of things. He seems - that's an important thing.
FADEL: Francesca Montarulli (ph) from southern Italy took issue with his remarks on marriage.
FRANCESCA MONTARULLI: (Speaking Italian).
FADEL: She says, "I didn't like that he says that the family's made up of a mother and a father." Montarulli says she believes God loves everyone regardless of who they are.
INSKEEP: Another person in the crowd was Melissa Hale (ph) of Georgia.
MELISSA HALE: We are very hopeful that Pope Leo will be able to take the church forward into the future.
INSKEEP: She says she's excited about his calls for peace.
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