Despite pleas, Pope Francis has failed to go to Ukraine. That’s inexcusable
Where is Pope Francis when the world most needs him? Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s impassioned pleas for him to go to Ukraine and help negotiate a humanitarian corridor for civilians trapped in cities being bombarded by Russian troops, the pope hasn’t budged.
Zelenskyy has been urging the pope for more than a month — privately and publicly — to travel to Ukraine and step up his efforts to save Ukrainian civilians caught in the war.
When asked about the pope at an April 24 press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said, “I really wanted him to come from the very beginning, to support our people in the east of the country. I wanted him to try to unblock the humanitarian corridors to Mariupol.”
Up to 1,000 civilians, including women and children, have been trapped in the Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol, which spreads over four square miles and is the last bastion of Ukrainian troops’ resistance in the city. Mariupol city officials say about 9,000 civilians may have been killed by Russian troops in the city in recent weeks, although the figure is hard to confirm independently.
Russia’s autocrat Vladimir Putin so far has declined Ukraine’s requests for a safe passage for civilians to leave besieged cities.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko sent a letter to Pope Francis on March 8, saying that the pontiff’s presence in Ukraine would be “key for saving lives and paving the path to peace in our city, country and beyond,” Reuters news agency reported on March 15.
But, so far, the pope has declined such invitations. His explanation for not going to Ukraine has been disappointing.
In an interview published April 21 by the daily
La Nación of his native Argentina, the pope said that, while the Vatican is mediating behind the scenes to seek a ceasefire, “I cannot do anything that might put at risk higher objectives, which are the end of the war, a truce or, at least, a humanitarian corridor.”
He added, “What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continued on the following day?”
Sorry, that’s not a convincing argument. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres traveled to Ukraine in recent days, visiting Kyiv and several sites, such as Bucha, where Russian troops reportedly massacred civilians, to draw the world’s attention to the war. Guterres didn’t stay at home in New York waiting to achieve “higher objectives” while civilians continued to be killed by Russian bombs.
Security concerns can’t be an excuse for the pope’s failure to go to Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III visited Ukraine last Sunday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as the prime ministers of Spain, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have also been to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, traveled to Kyiv and Bucha. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have also made separate trips to the Polish-Ukrainian border to meet with Ukrainian refugees and help draw world attention to their plight.
“It really hurts us, as fellow Argentines, that the pope hasn’t traveled there yet,” Patricia Bullrich, one of Argentina’s best known opposition leaders, told me. She added that the pope is a spiritual leader who represents people from many ideologies, and his presence in Ukraine “would have a huge impact.”
Granted, the pope’s age — he’s 85 — could be an issue. But if he can’t travel to a nearby country where Russia’s invasion threatens to unleash World War III, perhaps he should consider resigning, and allowing a younger pontiff to be appointed.
The pope’s prayers for peace are not enough at this critical time. He should use his moral authority to seek a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian civilians. And if that doesn’t work, he should go to Ukraine to focus even greater world outrage over Russia’s atrocities there.
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