Pope Leo XIV stated that the Holy See’s role as a mediator in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is less realistic than its voice in promoting peace.
In an interview with Crux, he said:
“I’d make a distinction in terms of the voice of the Holy See in advocating for peace and a role as mediator, which I think is very different and is not as realistic as the first one. I think that people have heard the different appeals I’ve made in terms of raising my voice, the voice of Christians, and the people of goodwill, saying that peace is the only answer. The useless killing after these years of people on both sides – in that particular conflict, but in other conflicts – I think people have to somehow be wakened up to say, there’s another way to do this..”
He emphasized that the Holy See has made significant efforts to maintain a neutral stance since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
“We keep hoping. I believe strongly that we cannot give up hope, ever. I have high hopes in human nature. There is the negative side; there are bad actors, there are the temptations. On any side of any position, you can find motivations that are good and motivations that are not so good. And yet, to continue to encourage people to look at the higher values, the real values, that makes a difference. You can have hope, and you keep trying to push and say to people, let’s do this in a different way,” the Pope said.
