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Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions

Pontiff visits world's oldest republic, warns against systems prioritizing power over people.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Camera IconVisiting San Marino, the Pope praised a society "built on respect for one's own freedom". (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

What this story says

  • Pope Leo XIV visited San Marino, the world's oldest republic, on 22 August 2026.
  • He praised the nation's centuries-old traditions of liberty, mutual respect, and community.
  • The Pope warned against political and economic systems that place power above the human person.
  • He also spoke at a Catholic gathering in Rimini, Italy.

Who covered it

Left 53%(17)Centre 31%(10)Right 16%(5)

Percentages are shares of the 32 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 5 of the 37 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

20/100

37 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 5 of the 32 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Pope Leo XIV visited San Marino, the world's oldest republic, on 22 August 2026. He praised the nation's traditions, which he said are rooted in liberty, mutual respect, and community. San Marino is a nation of approximately 35,000 people entirely surrounded by Italy. The Pope cautioned against political and economic systems that prioritise power over the human person. He also spoke at a Catholic gathering in Rimini, Italy.

Coverage comparison

Pope Leo XIV visited San Marino, the world's oldest republic, on 22 August 2026. He praised the nation's centuries-old republican traditions, which he said are rooted in liberty, mutual respect, and community. San Marino, a nation of about 35,000 people, is completely surrounded by Italy. The Pope warned against political and economic systems that place power above the human person. He also spoke at a Catholic gathering in Rimini, Italy.

Omissions

None of the right-rated digests mention the 2021 referendum in San Marino that legalised abortion. The Associated Press report, carried by left and centre outlets, noted this referendum and the Pope's use of language concerning human dignity from conception to natural death, which is commonly associated with opposition to abortion.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 22 Aug 2026, 16:30, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders arrives at the West Australian District Court in Perth, Tuesday, Aug.11, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AAP)
Associated Press NewsLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

17 rated outlets

  • Reports from the left led on Pope Leo XIV's praise for San Marino's traditions of freedom and civic responsibility. They noted his warning against systems that place power above the human person. The Associated Press report, carried by multiple outlets, also detailed the Pope's address at a Catholic gathering in Rimini, Italy, where he spoke about war, polarization, and social division, urging dialogue and friendship. Some reports mentioned the Pope's call for public life to uphold human dignity from conception to natural death, language associated with opposition to abortion and euthanasia. The Associated Press report noted that San Marino voters approved a referendum legalising abortion in 2021, overturning a ban.

Centre

10 rated outlets

  • Centrist reports focused on Pope Leo XIV's praise for San Marino as a model of freedom and the common good. They highlighted his remarks on the nation's centuries-old republican traditions and his warning against political and economic systems that elevate power over the human person. Several reports mentioned the Pope's visit to San Marino and his address to local authorities. Some digests noted the Pope's call for public life to uphold human dignity, a phrase often used in discussions about abortion and euthanasia. The Associated Press report, carried by several centre-rated outlets, also included details of the Pope's speech in Rimini, Italy.

Right

5 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports highlighted Pope Leo XIV's praise for San Marino as a model of freedom and the common good. They noted his commendation of the republic's centuries-old traditions and his warning against political and economic systems that place power above the human person. The Vatican News report stated the Pope praised San Marino for offering an example of 'care of the human person'. Some reports mentioned the Pope's call for public life to uphold human dignity 'from conception to natural death', language commonly used by Catholic leaders when referring to opposition to abortion and euthanasia.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions?
Of the 32 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 53% are rated left, 31% are rated centre, 16% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 37. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 32 rated outlets on this story, 53% are rated left, 31% are rated centre, 16% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions biased?
Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions is one event reported by 37 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Pope Leo XIV visits San Marino, praises its traditions?
37 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
When did Pope Leo XIV visit San Marino?
Pope Leo XIV visited San Marino on 22 August 2026. He addressed local authorities during his one-day visit to the world's oldest surviving republic.
What did Pope Leo XIV praise about San Marino?
The Pope praised San Marino's centuries-old republican traditions, which he said are rooted in liberty, mutual respect, and community. He described the republic as a model of political freedom and civic responsibility.
What warning did Pope Leo XIV issue?
Pope Leo XIV warned against political and economic systems that place power above the human person. He also spoke about the threats of violence, social fragmentation, and ideologies that put self-interest ahead of the common good.

Read it at the source

37 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

17
Show 9 more

Centre

10
Show 2 more

Right

5

Not rated

5

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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