Bishop Shevchuk indicated that there is a great desire among Ukrainians for Pope Francis to visit the country and that “they are praying” that it will happen soon.
Despite this, Bishop Shevchuk admitted that the Vatican’s neutrality after the war “was not very well received in Ukraine at first, because how can anyone be neutral when there is an aggressor who is constantly killing us every day?”
He mentioned the visit of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the Vatican in 2023noting that due to the president’s belief that his country “does not need a mediator but allies,” it was “a difficult moment in relations between kyiv and the Vatican.”
However, Bishop Shevchuk praised Pope Francis for using his neutrality to help gather humanitarian aid and work toward peace between Russia and Ukraine. He noted that in speaking to Ukrainians about the Vatican’s decision to remain neutral, the Pontiff makes the distinction between diplomatic and moral neutrality.