By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- The rhetoric and first steps of Pope Leo XIV on the war in Ukraine have ignited optimism in the country. The country sees the new pontiff as a potential ally in the Vatican as Kyiv strives to bolster international pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion.
Many hope Leo’s moral clarity and active approach towards helping achieve peace will galvanize global , including in the United States and Latin America, at a time when Ukraine finds itself under pressure from the US to make concessions to Russia.
A shift in tone
“I liked that the Pope recognizes Russia as an aggressor,” Olha Kryvytska, a 35-year-old translator from Lviv, told EFE, citing his remarks as a bishop in Peru. Labeling the war “imperialist” and defining Russia’s territorial ambitions as its cause, Leo has taken a clearer stance than his predecessor, Pope Francis, whose ambiguity frustrated many Ukrainians.
“Francis spoke as if Russia and Ukraine were equally to blame or called us ‘brothers,’ which we never were,” Kryvytska said, echoing a widespread sentiment that Francis failed to leverage his influence among Christians to help Ukraine.
There is a shared view in Ukraine that Leo’s stance could become less explicit and more neutral in his role as a Pope. However, many have high hopes for the new Pope, based on his first steps.
“He understands what is happening, that Ukraine is a victim of aggression of an imperialist power,” Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told EFE.
The Pope has already made it clear that true peace cannot be “a capitulation to evil” and “equate the victim and aggressor,” Bishop Sviatoslav, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), wrote in an opinion piece for “Ukrainska Pravda” last week.
“The words of the new Pontiff about ‘a true, just and lasting peace’ for Ukraine were very important to us,” he underlined, referring to the Pope’s first Sunday prayer.
Moral leadership as a tool
Though Pope Francis may have adopted a neutral tone towards Russia to facilitate prisoner exchanges, “a clear distinction between good and evil is the Vatican’s greatest tool,” Danylo Lubkivskyi, former deputy foreign minister, wrote for the media of the UGCC.
Ukrainians view the pope as a moral leader rather than a diplomat, and want to hear clear moral judgments from him, Anatoliy Babynskyi, professor of theology at Ukrainian Catholic University, told RISU news agency.
“Open condemnation of Russia will do more for peace than quiet diplomacy,” he said, noting that Russia thrives in “such backroom diplomacy.”
Many hope that Pope’s authority, especially given his background in the US and Peru, could help mobilize for Ukraine in both Americas, where many perceive the conflict as too distant or view it as a proxy war between the West and Russia.
“We have high hopes that he will help us establish with the Global South and Latin America and remind them that Christianity implies helping a victim of aggression,” Oleksandr Merezhko noted to EFE.
The deputy also expects that the Pope’s position could influence those in Donald Trump’s entourage, who are “practicing Catholics,” such as State Secretary Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance, as Kyiv finds itself under pressure from Washington.
Uplifting steps
Leo’s first call with a head of state was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who invited him to visit Ukraine. The Vatican’s offer to host peace talks, which the Pope made during Zelenskyy’s visit on Sunday, has also been welcomed in Ukraine.
“I expect Leo will help in peace efforts, especially in returning Ukrainian children from Russia,” Kryvytska said.
Lists of Ukrainian prisoners of war, as well as abducted children and detained journalists, have been handed to the Vatican by Ukraine.
Ukrainians also believe that a papal visit would uplift a nation weary from over three years of war while bolstering the Vatican’s global standing at a time when authoritarian states challenge international norms. EFE
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