The Italian government deployed some 1,500 security agents, stationed snipers on rooftops, and enforced a no-fly zone for the visit of the president whose country continues to fight the troops from neighbouring Russia that invaded Ukraine over a year ago.

Many Italian and Rome-based foreign journalists gave the impression that the singular purpose of Zelensky's trip was to meet Pope Francis.

They opined that it was to discuss a nebulous behind-the-scenes peace plan the 86-year-old pope recently said the Holy See is working on.

A meeting with the Bishop of Rome was indeed on the Ukrainian president's schedule, but it was not the main reason he came to the Eternal City. Not by a long shot.

Zelensky came for military aid, not a papal peace plan.

He was actually here to meet Italy's president and prime minister. He had one particular objective: to obtain further aid for Ukraine's war effort, especially in weapons — long-range missiles to be exact.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Italy is the 6th largest military arms exporter in the world, following Germany, China, France, Russia — of course — the ("We're Number 1") United States of America.

But the Italian populace is divided over their country's military assistance to Ukraine.

That's why Zelensky also secured a high-profile interview on Italian state television (RAI) at the end of the daylong visit with the hopes of shifting public opinion.

His meeting with the pope was also about trying to convince the head of the Roman Catholic Church that Vladimir Putin is not someone to be trusted at a bargaining table, certainly not until the Russian president moves every last one of his soldiers and their tanks out of Ukraine.

But Francis has talked about that "secret" plan to stop the war.

It's apparently so secret that officials in the warring neighbouring countries have said they are unaware of it.

The pope, who has spoken out almost daily for peace in "battered" or "martyred" Ukraine, deserves our admiration for his willingness "to do whatever it takes" to help end the war.

But, as it's been said several times in this column, there is no role for the Bishop of Rome in the Russian Orthodox world.

That includes Ukraine, too, which is actually the historic birthplace of this Eastern Orthodox Church, religious tradition and ethos.

Although the Jesuit pope has gone to incredible (and some would say embarrassing) lengths to create better relations between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate (head of the Russian Orthodox Church), the Russians still do not trust the Romans.

Of course, we believe that miracles can happen.

And that's exactly what is needed for there to be any role for the pope or his Holy See diplomats in ending the bloodshed in this inter-Orthodox war.

Looking after the flock

As the Bishop of Rome — yes, he is first of all a bishop -, the pope's primary role is to "teach, sanctify, and govern" those who are part of his Church.

And since he is the ordinary of the See of Peter and Paul, he also exercises a distinctive primacy over those local Churches in communion with Rome.

But the pope's "flock", as it were, is minuscule in Russia — counting only 348,000 Catholics in an overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox nation of 104.9 million people.

The Catholic population is a bit larger in Ukraine, but those in communion with the pope are still in the minority.

Of the country's estimated 42.9 million people, there are roughly 4.8 million Catholics.

But they are not all "Romans" or Latins.

In fact, most of them are Greek (or Byzantine) Catholics, which are similar in almost all ways to the Eastern Orthodox, except they are in communion with and subject to the pope.

Roman Catholics, mainly based in western Ukraine and of Polish ancestry, don't even amount to one percent of the country's population. Greek Catholics make up only 8%.

The point here, as the Russians often point out, is that this part of the world is not historically part of the Bishop of Rome's territory, either spiritually or juridically.

Obviously, the ecumenical age in which we currently live demands that the different Christian communities (and other religious traditions) strive to work together for peace, harmony and the common good everywhere in the world.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is the pope's interlocutor in this matter.

But they are kind of not talking to each other right now... They also have opposing views about the legitimacy of Putin's invasion.

The Roman pope as monarch and statesman

What's going on here is not about Francis fulfilling his role as a bishop or even the spiritual leader of the world's largest and wealthiest Christian Church.

Although he prefers to position himself as a sort of global "pastor", in this case, he's really using his prerogatives as a monarch, a role the Roman papacy accrued over the course of its long history.

The Bishop of Rome is also the Sovereign of Vatican City State.

Like a monarch (or dictator, if you prefer), he "enjoys supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church" and the postage stamp-sized remnant of the Papal States that is the Vatican, territorial home of the Holy See and guarantor of the Catholic Church's freedom.

If you don't believe that, consider this: Francis on Saturday issued an updated version of Vatican City State's "fundamental law" (i.e. constitution), as well as this tiny country's flag, coat of arms, and official seal.

And on all three, the papal tiara (triple crown) is prominently featured, even though the last two popes replaced the tiara with a bishop's mitre on their own coat of arms.

Bishops don't normally enjoy the rights and privileges of kings or heads of state as the Bishop-Sovereign of Vatican City does. And Francis wants to ensure he and his successors continue enjoying this role.

From this point of view, one can say that the pope is absolutely justified in using his internationally recognised status as a state sovereign to engage other world leaders for the good of humanity.

But here's the thing — his influence is waning.

But that's not his fault or the fault of his pontificate.

This is the state of the Roman papacy today.

The world where it once played a significant diplomatic and political role has largely collapsed or just faded away.

Old Europe, which was made of monarchies like the pope's, no longer exists.

The papacy enjoyed geopolitical power when the world was Eurocentric.

That's pretty much all gone now.

If you want proof, think of the inability of Francis — a Latin American pope — and his top papal diplomats to help negotiate peaceful solutions to conflicts (directly affecting local Catholics!) in places like Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The papal nuncio was even booted out of Managua, and a local bishop has been thrown in jail, while at least one other has been forced into exile.

It would be marvellous if the pope could end the horrible war in Ukraine, but short of a miracle, that's not likely to happen.

The best thing he can do is continue "teach, sanctify, and govern" his people in the ways of Christ's peace and fellowship, as he does so well.

Francis, Bishop, and Servant of the Servants of God — as Paul VI signed the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) — has brought much light to our often dark and violent world.

But he is only its servant, not its saviour.

• Robert Mickens is LCI Editor in Chief.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Francis went to the door to greet him rather than wait for formal introductions.

They spent 40 minutes speaking privately in their first face-to-face meeting since the war began.

They discussed "the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing war," the Vatican said.

Francis assured Zelensky of "his constant prayers, evidenced by his many public appeals and continuous invocation to the Lord for peace since," the Vatican added.

"Both agreed on the need for continued humanitarian efforts to support the population.

"The Pope particularly stressed the urgent need for 'gestures of humanity' toward the most fragile people, the innocent victims of the conflict."

Grateful for support

Zelensky thanked Francis for his support and requested more.

"I'm grateful for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians," he said.

"In addition, I asked to condemn crimes in Ukraine. Because there can be no equality between the victim and the aggressor."

Zelenssy later tweeted:

"I'm grateful for his [the Pope's] personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians.

"I spoke about tens of thousands of deported children. We must make every effort to return them home.

"I also talked about our Peace Formula as the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace. I proposed joining its implementation."

Papal focus

Francis explained that as the Vatican has no "political, commercial or military aims," it operates on the world stage "through the exercise of a positive neutrality.

"This affords the Holy See a certain standing in the international community that allows it to better assist in the resolution of conflicts and other matters," Francis said.

Ongoing attacks

Missile attacks in Ukraine are frequent.

The Kyiv region and the city's outskirts suffered from these on Saturday night and an industrial zone was hit.

The attacks follow strikes earlier in the day that hit the cities of Nikopol, Khmelnytskyi and Mykolaiv.

Air sirens blared in the capital, Kyiv, and the port city of Odessa.

Meanwhile, pro-Russian officials in Luhansk, a breakaway Ukrainian region backed and occupied by the Kremlin, reported explosions they blamed on Ukrainian forces.

Forces rallied

Zelensky described his trip as "an important visit for the approaching victory of Ukraine."

He is rallying his European allies for a planned counteroffensive and is looking for sustained military support from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

In their "fruitful" meeting, Zelensky said, the leaders discussed Ukraine's bids to join NATO and the European Union, punitive sanctions against Russia, potential peace plans and postwar reconstruction.

Italy's support

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promised the country full support to Ukraine.

She said Italy would continue to supply weapons and back Ukraine for as long as necessary. Italy is the 6th largest military arms exporter in the world.

"We are betting on Ukraine's victory," Meloni said.

Zelensky also met Italy's head of state Sergio Mattarella before meeting Francis.

Mattarella stressed peace in Ukraine "must be a true peace and not a surrender."

A source claims Mattarella confirmed Italy's readiness to provide "military, financial, humanitarian and reconstruction aid" to Kyiv.

Sources

• Twitter
• USCCB
• Twitter
• The Jerusalem Post
• The Washington Post

He expressed surprise that officials in both countries claimed ignorance of the Vatican's plan.

"Based on my knowledge, they know, but you know how it is, in bureaucracies, it could be that communications that are supposed to arrive don't arrive," Parolin was quoted as saying.

"These are just my interpretations, but I know that both parties were informed."

Ukraine and Russia have denied any knowledge of the claim made by Pope Francis that the Vatican is involved in a secret peace plan to end the conflict between the two countries.

Their denial follows Francis, Monday, revealing a secret peace "mission" in Russia's war in Ukraine was underway.

He also said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

"I'm available to do anything," Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. "There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public, I'll talk about it."

Asked by reporters on May 2 if the Russian government was aware of a Vatican-led plan referenced by Pope Francis to advance the peace process in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded: "No, nothing is known," Russian state media reported.

According to CNN, the Ukrainian government also denied engaging with the Vatican in peace talks.

"President Zelenskyy has not consented to any such discussions on Ukraine's behalf," CNN reported a source close to the Ukrainian president saying, "If talks are happening, they are happening without our knowledge or our blessing."

Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.

Francis asked to help return Ukrainian children

Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and asked him to help return Ukrainian children taken following the Russian invasion.

"I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested and criminally deported to Russia,″ Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.

Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine's request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.

The prisoner exchanges "went well. I think it could go well also for this. It's important," he said of the family reunifications. "The Holy See is available to do it because it's the right thing," he added. "We have to do all that is humanly possible."

Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges.

"All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help," Francis said.

Sources

Associated Press

AP News

UCA News

CNN

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he is not bluffing about using the weapons of mass destruction.

He ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine.

Without naming Russia or Putin, Francis told the crowd in St Peter's Square last Wednesday that even thinking of using nuclear weapons is "madness".

Ukrainians are being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture, he added. They are a "noble" people being martyred.

He then told the crowd of a conversation he had on Tuesday with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.

The Polish cardinal (pictured with his ambulance) leads Francis's aid work in Ukraine.

Krajewski had to run and take cover after coming under light gunfire last week, Francis said. At the time, the cardinal had been delivering aid with a Catholic bishop, a Protestant bishop and a Ukrainian soldier.

Cardinal Krajewski also visited mass graves outside Izium, in northeast Ukraine.

"He (Krajewski) told me of the pain of these people, the savage acts, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies they find. Let us unite with these people, so noble and martyred," Francis told the crowd.

Ukrainian officials say they have found hundreds of bodies. Some have their hands tied behind their backs. They are buried in territory recaptured from Russian forces.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says their bodies provide proof of war crimes,

Of the 111 civilian bodies exhumed by Wednesday, four showed signs of torture according to the head of investigative police in the Kharkiv region where Izium is located.

Russia has consistently denied its troops have committed war crimes since it invaded Ukraine in February.

On Monday last week, two days before the exhumations, the Kremlin rejected allegations of such abuses in Kharkiv region. The allegations are a "lie", the Kremlin said.

A contrasting world view

After discussing the situation in Ukraine with the crowd, Francis then spoke of his trip to Kazakhstan which took place early last week.

The central Asian country gave up its nuclear weapons in 1991 after its independence from the Soviet Union.

"This was courageous," Francis told the crowd.

"At a time in this tragic [Ukraine] war where some are thinking of nuclear weapons - which is madness - this country said 'no' to nuclear weapons from the start."