PREVIOUS comments by Pope Leo XIV have been widely hailed in Ukraine as a positive sign.
In interview with the Peruvian newspaper Semanario Expresión, in 2022, Bishop Robert Prevost of Chicalayo, in Peru, as the new Pope was then, described the war in Ukraine as “a true imperialist invasion” in which Russia “seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power”. A video of the interview has been shared online in Ukraine over the past week following the papal announcement.
Pope Leo’s approach, if followed, would mark a clear contrast to the more measured line taken by his predecessor in relation to the conflict. Many Ukrainians considered Pope Francis’s engagement as too moderate, and there is optimism that the new pontiff will inject fresh energy into the Vatican’s peacemaking efforts.
In his congratulatory comments, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, called Pope Leo a “Pope of peace”.
“Ukraine is weary from the ongoing war and is in desperate need of this peace. We really feel that Pope Leo XIV will be the Pope of peace for the long-suffering, war-torn Ukraine,” Archbishop Shevchuk said.
He drew attention to the Pope’s first words as he greeted the crowd in St Peter’s Square after his election — “Peace be with you!” — which the Archbishop felt could be a new papal priority: “the importance of peace, which [the Pope] described as the gift from the breath of the risen Saviour”.
The youngest Cardinal in the conclave, the Ukrainian-born Mykola Bychok, Bishop of Melbourne (UGCC), expressed similar hopes that Pope Leo would be “a good Pope”, and that he “will become not only a true witness for Christ, but also for the bleeding Ukraine, which, like Christ, is being tormented, being crucified”. He also spoke of the universal character of the papacy: “The Pope is not just for Ukrainians or Australians; he is the Pope for the entire world.”
President Zelensky spoke with Pope Leo on Monday, and described the telephone conversation as “warm and truly substantive”. He said that it had covered aspects of the Vatican’s humanitarian engagement in the conflict and the return of Ukrainian children who have been illegally deported to Russia.