Pope Leo XIV said Europe's involvement in Ukraine peace negotiations "is important" and criticized the Trump administration's initial attempt to craft a peace plan without European input, speaking to journalists aboard his return flight from Lebanon on 2 December 2025.
The stance marks a break from Francis, who in August 2023 told Russian youth they were "descendants of the great Russia of Peter the Great, Catherine II"—rulers Putin has invoked to justify his invasion, NBC News reported. While the Kremlin thanked Francis, Leo XIV has labeled Russia's war "imperialist in nature, aimed at seizing territory for the sake of power."
Leo XIV proposes Italy as intermediary for "just peace"
Leo XIV criticized the Trump administration's initial attempt to craft a peace plan without European input. "The President of the United States is thinking he can promote a peace plan that he would like to carry out and that, at least at first, is without Europe. But Europe's presence is important," the pope said, according to Vatican News. He noted the proposal "was also modified because of what Europe was saying."
The pontiff singled out Italy as a potential mediator between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
"Specifically, I think Italy's role could be very important. Culturally and historically, Italy has the capacity to act as an intermediary in the midst of a conflict that exists between different parties: Ukraine, Russia, the United States," the pope said.
"In this sense, I could suggest that the Holy See might encourage this kind of mediation, and that one should seek—and that we should seek together—a solution that could truly offer peace, a just peace, in this case in Ukraine."
The Francis legacy: "Great Russia" and strategic ambiguity
Francis's August 2023 remarks to Russian youth sparked immediate backlash in Kyiv. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said the words caused "great pain" among Ukrainian Catholics, warning they "may be perceived as support for the nationalism and imperialism that has caused the war in Ukraine," according to the USCCB.
The Kremlin, predictably, delighted in the controversy. Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Francis's comments "very gratifying," adding: "The pontiff knows Russian history," Crux Now reported.
Francis later acknowledged his words were "badly phrased." But his broader approach to the war—steadfastly refusing to name Russia as the aggressor, calling it "hypocritical" to arm Ukraine while staying silent on Russian terror, and urging Kyiv to "raise the white flag"—left many Ukrainians deeply frustrated with Vatican diplomacy.
A new Vatican approach
Leo XIV has already offered to host peace talks at the Vatican—an offer Russia rejected as "inelegant" for negotiations between Orthodox nations. Unlike Francis, who hesitated to criticize Moscow directly, Leo XIV told an estimated 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square during his first Sunday blessing that he carries "the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people" in his heart, adding: "Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible," CBS News reported.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Leo XIV to help secure the return of Ukrainian prisoners and abducted children—a concrete humanitarian task rather than the abstract calls for "negotiation" that characterized his predecessor's approach.
