Pope Leo XIV‘s plea for peace in Ukraine has been followed by an invitation to visit the war-torn country by its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the new pope’s first known phone call with a foreign leader.
Speaking from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, Pope Leo said: “I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people” and urged that “every effort be made to reach a true, just and lasting peace as soon as possible”. He continued: “May all prisoners be freed and may the children be returned to their families.”
In a post on X on Monday, Mr Zelenskiy said he had spoken to the pope by phone about “the agreement between Ukraine and our partners that, starting today, a full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days must begin”.
He stressed “Ukraine’s readiness for further negotiations in any format, including direct talks”. Ukraine wanted “to end this war and is doing everything to achieve that. We now await similar steps from Russia,” he said.
A visit by Pope Leo to Ukraine, he said, “would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people”.
Mr Zelenskiy has offered to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday in talks proposed by Russia. The Kremlin had not responded to that offer on Monday.
In his first public audience, Pope Leo met thousands of members of the media on Monday, including those who reported on the funeral of Pope Francis and on the conclave that elected the new pontiff last Thursday.
Thanking them “for the work you have done and continue to do in these days”, he called on “each one of you to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it”.
The way people communicated was “of fundamental importance: we must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war,” the pope said.
Reiterating “the church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for seeking to report the truth”, he asked “for the release of these imprisoned journalists. The church recognises in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives – the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices”.
The suffering of imprisoned journalists “challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press. Thank you, dear friends, for your service to the truth”, he said.
He again spoke of artificial intelligence, as he did to the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel last Friday. With its “immense potential” AI required “responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity”, he said.
“We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice,” he said. “Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world. Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity.”
Speaking directly to media present, he said: “You are at the forefront of reporting on conflicts and aspirations for peace, on situations of injustice and poverty, and on the silent work of so many people striving to create a better world. For this reason, I ask you to choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favour of peace.”
