Leo on the phone with Putin: A call from the Pope and two representations

Leo XIV does not seem like a cancer patient when he appears at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace on Sunday. He seems rested and powerful. Applause burns up. The Pope smiles, adjusts his microphone and then comes straight to the point, the Gospel of Matthew for this Sunday. It is about the relationship with the powerful of this world: “Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor and God what belongs to God.” The Kingdom of God does not abolish human offices and responsibilities, says the Pope. It requires, however, “that one live without compromise, free from bad ambitions and unjust interests.” Only at the end of the Angelus Prayer does he approve a word in his own cause: I want to thank all those who have prayed for me. I really felt your support, says Leo in front of several thousand people in St. Peter’s Square. What Leo XIV discussed with the Russian ruler was his first public appearance after his lung surgery on Tuesday. The doctors had removed a malignant tumor as well as the right lower lobe of the lungs. On Saturday he had left the Roman Gemelli Clinic. The pulmonary specialist Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Leo, reported that the Pope had already had to be prevented from backing his chair in the chapel in the hospital. His trip to South America in November is from a medical point of view nothing opposes. The relationship with the powerful of the world was already on Friday on the agenda of the Pope. Leo XIV had spoken from the hospital with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. The Vatican Press Office said the Pope “expressed his deep concern about the difficult humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky in the Cherson area.” He had asked for a ceasefire to facilitate the arrival of food and medical aid and a voluntary and safe evacuation of the city’s civilian population on the frontline. A press statement from the Kremlin said that given the Pope’s concern for the city of Oleshky, “comprehensive explanations have been given about the responsibility of the Kiev regime for the difficult humanitarian situation that has arisen there.” The Kremlin said that in the “exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine” Putin thanked the Pope for his willingness to contribute to the resolution of the conflict and for his efforts in the humanitarian field. Putin has also highlighted Russian-Vatican cooperation in promoting unifying spiritual-moral values and protecting Christians and Christian shrines in various regions of the world. Putin has conveyed “sincere wishes for recovery” to the Pope and wished him “immediate recovery”. The Ukrainian government welcomed the Pope’s request for a ceasefire for Oleshky. He wanted to thank Leo XIV personally for calling on Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in Oleshky so that humanitarian aid could be provided, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on Platform X on Saturday. The people in the small town, which was largely destroyed, needed to survive not just expressions of concern, but immediate action. About 1,700 people were imprisoned in Oleschky, Sybiha said. “The only escape route is mined and is monitored by combat drones.” Those who try to escape risk being killed. The hospital in the city ran out of medication. The foreign minister accused Russia of wanting to turn Oleshky into a “death trap”. Vatican increases mediation efforts According to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s chief diplomat, the initiative for the phone call came from the Pope. He hoped, Parolin said on Friday night, according to Vatican news portal Vatican News, “that in the face of such a request from the Holy Father, President Putin is ready to implement what the Pope asked him to do.” The fact that Putin accepted and spoke on the phone call gives him hope “that this is a good omen” and that Putin will comply with the Pope’s request, Parolin said. The Vatican has intensified its efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kiev in recent months. Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Richard Gallagher visited Ukraine in July and travelled to Russia in August. At the end of September, the Pope’s Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in the Ukraine War, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, travelled to Moscow for the first time after two years, his third visit to Moscow since the start of the Ukraine War. His talks focused on the exchange of prisoners and the return of abducted Ukrainian children. Pope Leo XIV had repeatedly appealed to Moscow and Kiev to begin peace negotiations.