DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria is particularly mindful of the Pope's warning about the crisis of multilateral institutions and the UN, more so than the message addressed to French society on secularism or end-of-life issues.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Léon XIV warned, in a speech to UNESCO, that the UN and multilateral bodies are going through a "crisis of effectiveness" and risk becoming a "charade".
- 02
Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to "annihilate" Iran if Tehran did not agree to end the war, and dozens of delegates walked out of the room Thursday during Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the UN General Assembly.
- 03
On the plane to Paris, the Pope stated that journalists were "welcome", responding to a question about the White House's attempt to bar CNN and other media outlets.
ANALYSIS
Pretoria, September 26, 2026. The South African press is reporting on the first papal visit to France in eighteen years through the lens of international institutions rather than French societal debates. According to SABC News, Léon XIV warned from the Paris headquarters of UNESCO that the UN and other multilateral bodies are going through an "efficacy crisis", cautioning against international dialogue becoming a mere "charade". The pope denounced, without naming names, leaders who "invoke the law when it serves their interests and ignore it when it constrains them", treating justice "like a commodity". This speech comes as the UN General Assembly, which ends on Monday in New York, has been marked by high tensions: Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to "annihilate" Iran if Tehran did not agree to end the war, and dozens of delegates walked out of the room on Thursday during Benjamin Netanyahu's speech. Léon XIV, already at odds with Washington after criticizing the war in Iran earlier this year, is speaking out as Trump withdrew the United States from UNESCO in 2025, depriving the organization of major funding. Press freedom is also a central theme in the South African coverage: on the plane to Paris, the pope assured journalists they were "welcome", responding to a question about the White House's attempt to bar CNN and other media outlets. He had already called, during his first audience in 2025, for the release of imprisoned journalists. Greeted at Orly by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron under a blue sky, Léon XIV also indicated his desire to revive calls for global rules on artificial intelligence, before heading to Lourdes and then Metz during his four-day stay. Daily Maverick notes that France remains a secular nation since the 1905 law, marked by a constant decline in Catholic affiliation, and that the pope is also seeking to restore the image of the Church after the abuse scandals that shook the country. But it is the institutional and diplomatic aspect - UNESCO, UN, press freedom - that structures the view from Pretoria on this visit, rather than the French debates on end-of-life issues or secularism, which are barely mentioned in the available coverage.
