During a visit to the Vatican, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the Pope to clearly support him against Russia. Francis should condemn Russia’s crimes in the war of aggression against Ukraine, Selensky quoted himself after an unusually long audience of around 40 minutes with the head of the Catholic Church. Selenskyi had previously been received by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and had received massive support from both. “We won’t forget that,” said the Ukrainian President, demonstrating his gratitude.
At the meeting with the Pope, on the other hand, different positions were recognizable, even with the outward appearance. Zelensky was also dressed in the usual military pants and sweatshirt for this meeting. He presented the Pope with an icon of Mary painted on a partially destroyed armored army vest. As an official gift, the Pope had chosen a bronze olive branch as a symbol of peace.
According to the Vatican press office, Francis emphasized the “humanitarian and political situation” in connection with the ongoing war and recalled his “unremitting prayers for peace”. In particular, he underlined the need for “humanitarian gestures” towards the most vulnerable and the innocent victims of the conflict.
This choice of words is in line with the more cautious line that the Pope has long advocated. It is true that he recently put the suffering of the Ukrainians, as the invading nation, more in the foreground. Unlike most Western politicians, however, he is careful not to attack Putin directly – he wants to continue to be able to mediate as an honest broker if necessary. “I don’t rule out contact with anyone, not even with the aggressor. Sometimes the dialogue stinks, but it has to be conducted,” the pope was last quoted as saying. “Otherwise we will close the only sensible door to peace.”
Zelensky, on the other hand, wrote on Telegram after the meeting that he had asked “to condemn the Russian crimes in Ukraine. Victims and aggressors cannot be equated.” He also spoke about his peace formula as the only effective formula for achieving a just peace. The Pope offered to take part in the implementation.
From the Ukrainian point of view, the Pope’s position was often the cause of criticism
In April, on the plane returning from Hungary, the Pope gave a vague report of a peace initiative that was going on behind the scenes, which the Russian Church immediately denied. The visit of Zelensky and everything that is going on in secret around it could now move things forward. The Vatican would be predestined as a mediator, it maintains a comprehensive network around the world. If necessary, Francis would always find the ear of US President Joe Biden, the second professing Catholic in the White House after John F. Kennedy.
From the Ukrainian point of view, the mediating position of the pope was often a cause for criticism. Francis had been accused of being too soft on the aggressor Russia. He has also not yet accepted an invitation to Kiev. The US Jesuit newspaper America Magazine Francis said: “When I travel, I go to Moscow and Kiev, both places, not just one”. Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic Church can show that Ukraine has been very busy visiting. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Pope’s commissioner for social affairs, has already been to the war-torn country five times – on behalf of Francis. There were also visitors from numerous local churches, and last June the German Bishops’ Conference sent Bishop Bertram Meier from Augsburg.
Also attending this week was a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Ukraine, chaired by general secretary Jerry Pillay: Bavarian Evangelical Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, who is also Chair of the WCC Central Committee. The Geneva-based organization brings together 352 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches with a total of 580 million believers – the Russian Orthodox Moscow Patriarchate is also a member of the WCC.
Because there is also the religious dimension of this war: Moscow’s Patriarch Cyril I unconditionally supports Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What’s more, he interpreted the war theologically and declared it a “metaphysical battle of good against evil”. In September 2022, Cyril even compared the deaths of Russian soldiers in battle to the sacrificial death of Jesus, assuring them that if they died, all their sins would be forgiven.
In Ukraine, the war has exacerbated already existing religious tensions and divisions among the Orthodox Churches. There are competing orthodox churches in the country – the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OKU) and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOK), which was subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate but broke away from it after the start of the war. How seriously this distancing was meant is disputed in Ukraine, however, and the church is still viewed with skepticism to this day. In March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture terminated the UOC’s contract of use with its main sanctuary, the Kiev Cave Monastery.
It was that cave monastery that Bedford-Strohm and the WCC delegation visited on his trip, and he returned on Saturday evening. “During the talks with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we also asked: How serious are you about distancing yourself from Moscow? In the talks with us, a very clear rejection of this Russian invasion became clear,” Bedford-Strohm told the SZ briefly on Saturday before his return trip on the phone. The delegation also spoke to the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, who assured “that he does not want to forcefully expel the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”.
The talks with both Orthodox Churches were very worthwhile, said Bedford-Strohm. “It was important for an organization of weight like the WCC to come in with an outside perspective. We are a world organization that both sides listen to. We are therefore planning a round table with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which Should take place at the end of September, beginning of October.” Both churches had signaled a willingness to engage in dialogue. WCC general secretary Jerry Pillay also plans to visit Moscow next week.
“I’m under no illusions that we can do something decisive for peace,” said Bedford-Strohm. “But if we take our foundation seriously, which is Jesus Christ, then we can make a difference. Our success is in God’s hands.” These sentences speak to what unites many religious representatives, regardless of their denomination, in the face of war: they may be largely powerless politically, but out of Christian responsibility they want and have to work for peace.
In the Protestant Church in particular, there is currently a heated debate about arms deliveries and the question of how these fit in with the Christian ban on killing. Bedford-Strohm reported that his visit to Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, was “very moving”. He stood at the former mass grave in which 119 people were buried. He spoke to the priest who witnessed the atrocities. “It all happened in his community. And then you realize that the Russian troops were here, in this suburb of Kiev.”
During the night in the hotel in Kiev, he was warned of rocket fire via an app, but people were relatively calm about it. “The fact that people in Kiev feel comparatively safe again today is due to the anti-aircraft missiles,” said the Bavarian bishop. “One is directly confronted with the fact that it is not so easy to categorically speak out against arms deliveries. The anti-missiles protect the people in Kiev.”