Ukraine ‘counting on’ Vatican for support in ceasefire

‘The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian prisons and camps. We are counting on the support for their release,’ said President Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy contacted religious leaders to ask for their support as he confirmed Ukraine’s agreement to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, emphasising the humanitarian crises necessitating a halt to hostilities.

After speaking with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on 14 March, President Zelenskyy said he was “counting” on the Vatican for the release of prisoners and that the “voice of the Holy See is very important on the path to peace”.

“The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian prisons and camps. We are counting on the support for their release,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post, adding that “the exchange of prisoners and an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire are the first quick steps that could significantly bring us closer to a just and lasting peace”.

A statement from the Vatican on 17 March confirmed the conversation, saying Zelenskyy had wished the Pope a “speedy recovery”.  It urged both parties to undertake “sincere dialogue, not subject to preconditions of any kind and aimed at reaching a just and lasting peace”.

“At the same time [the Holy See] urges that everything possible be done to release the prisoners,” it said.

Ukraine’s acceptance of a ceasefire proposal was influenced by recent talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It would pause fighting in the air, at sea, and on the front lines. Russia’s response non-committal was interpreted as device to delay peace negotiations as it reported advances. Vladimir Putin has indicated his agreement in principle but set out multiple demands, including guarantees that the time will not be used to strengthen Ukraine’s defences.

Zelenskyy focused on the humanitarian challenges caused by the war. Speaking to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on 14 March, he thanked him for his continuous prayers for peace, saying that Ukrainians “deeply appreciate his spiritual support”.

“Among the first steps towards a just and lasting peace should also be the release of prisoners of war, civilians, and the return of deported Ukrainian children,” Zelenskyy said.

The head of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine Metropolitan Epifaniy also discussed prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia at a meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I during his recent visit to Istanbul on 7-9 March.

Bartholomew said bringing the war to a close could lead to a new phase in the rebuilding of Ukraine.

Preaching in Kyiv on 16 March, the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk described how “not to give in, but to endure, is one of the types of Christian victory”.

“Not giving in, resisting – this is perhaps one of Ukraine’s victories, a victory for all of us,” he said. “The enemy seeks to intimidate us, to convince us that our strength is gone, that we are no longer supported. Let us not fall for these temptations of the devil.”

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On Monday, the UGCC Archbishop of Philadelphia Borys Gudziak said the news organisation Voice of America (VOA), whose federal funding was cut by the Trump administration, had spent the 83 years since its foundation “bringing truth and hope to hundreds of millions of persecuted people, to entire captive nations”.

A White House statement on Sunday claimed VOA broadcast “radical propaganda”. In a social media post paying tribute to two of its Ukrainian staff, Archbishop Gudziak said they and their colleagues would “continue witnessing to the truth”.

“We are ashamed that America is silencing its own voice,” the archbishop said. “Do not lose faith. Be inspired by Ukrainians who sacrifice their lives and livelihoods for freedom and justice.”

Earlier this month, at a gathering of policymakers at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, Archbishop Gudziak said Americans should take note of the lessons in freedom and justice his compatriots have learned in three years of war and thirty-five years of independence.

“I hope that today, Ukraine can give America hope to not be afraid,” Gudziak said. “Say what you have to say. Say what is true. Witness. Make a stand for the immigrants, for the poor, for the unjustly fired.”

He said Ukraine exemplified Catholic social teachings four pillars – human dignity, the common good, solidarity and subsidiarity – during the war.

Citing the roughly 4 million displaced persons in Ukraine, he asked: “Where are the refugee camps? Where are the big settlements?” He said displaced people were taken in by families and religious groups, in small towns and big cities. “The poor are helping the absolutely destitute.”

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