Following his inaugural Mass at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a crowd of 200 000 people who were praying in unity and love.
We applaud the Vatican’s willingness to facilitate direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. In order to achieve tangible outcomes, we are open to dialogue in any format. We appreciate the strong words being used to defend a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The Vatican has not yet made a statement regarding the meeting on Sunday.
Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was formally ordained as the Catholic Church at a ceremony held outside of St Peter’s Square, where world leaders and European royalty were present.
Leo, the first pope of America, called for unity in his sermon and said he wanted the church to be a global force for peace.
He said, “It would be our first great desire to see a united church as a sign of unity and communion, which serves as a leaven for a reconciled world.”
We continue to observe too much animosity, too many wounds brought on by hatred, violence, prejudice, a fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest in our time.
Leo vowed to lead the 1.4 billion Roman Catholics around the world “with fear and trembling” and resisted being “an autocrat” as leader.
“It is never a question of capturing others through force, religious propaganda, or through the use of power.” Instead, he asserted that loving is always and only a matter of time, just like Jesus did, in a apparent nod to the church’s split between the more traditional and liberal groups.
The Christian faith’s rich heritage
The late Pope Francis, whose 12-year tenure was marred by tensions with traditionalists within the church, succeeds the 69-year-old pope, who was born in Chicago and spent years as a missionary in Peru. Leo repeatedly used the terms “unity” and “harmony” to refer to the “rich heritage of the Christian faith” in an apparent nod to conservatives.
Leo’s first popemobile ride through St. Peter’s Square was preceded by the ceremony, greeting crowds chanted “Viva il Papa” in a wave.
The presidents of Israel, Peru, and Nigeria, the prime ministers of Italy, Canada, and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Spanish King Felipe and Queen Letizia were among the dignitaries present.
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic who had clashed with Francis over the White House’s immigration policy, led the delegation. In contrast to the two men’s previous encounter with President Donald Trump in front of the world’s media at the White House in February, Vice shook hands with Zelenskyy at the start of the ceremony.
Source: Aljazeera
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