Ukrainians don’t just want a political Pope. They deserve one

As Ukraine faces mounting international pressure to negotiate peace with Russia, some are urging the new pontiff to break with Vatican caution and confront Putin’s aggression head-on. Andreja Bogdanovski explains why he’s hoping Pope Leo XIV will avoid the quiet diplomacy of his predecessor

Expectations of Leo XIV in Ukraine are high, but not in terms of his commitment to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council from the 1960s or the church’s stand on AI, but as an influential actor in international relations.

Ukraine is hoping that the Vatican’s soft power and moral authority under Pope Leo will translate into greater pressure on Putin. However, with Ukraine on the brink of pressured peace talks, Pope Leo has no time to ease into the role but needs to make choices that will define it. 

After the Conclave finished last week, Ukrainian Greek Catholic leader Sviatoslav Shevchuk declared that Leo XIV will be the “Pope of peace” for Ukraine. That hope is rooted in disappointment: Pope Francis was seen as tiptoeing around Russian aggression, hesitant to overly criticise either Putin or the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been providing the ideological backing for this war.  

Shortly before his death, a senior Ukrainian official told…