Putin Dealt a "Slap in the Face" to Leo XIV – Archbishop Gänswein
In an interview with Herder Korrespondenz in January, Archbishop Gänswein revealed that shortly after his election in May, Pope Leo XIV had offered to mediate in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
While Ukraine accepted the proposal, Russia rejected it. "With that, the door to peace negotiations under Vatican mediation was, for the time being, closed — bluntly put, a slap in the face for the Pope and the Vatican," he said.Consequently, a papal visit to Ukraine currently appears hardly feasible, he added.
Recent developments suggest that hopes for a ceasefire are fading: "The past weeks have clearly shown that the fighting has intensified. A ceasefire seems an increasingly distant prospect. There is an obvious lack of serious willingness for peace on the Russian side."
Archbishop Gänswein added that people in the Baltic states fear that Russia could attack, and wonder whether the European Union and NATO would truly defend them. These fears, he said, revive painful memories of decades of Soviet oppression.
He added that, while Vatican diplomacy wants to promote peace, its influence may seem limited in real political terms.
Picture: Georg Gänswein © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsWtqucpfeen