Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone with newly elected Pope Leo XIV on Monday and said they discussed Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and a proposal from allies for a 30-day ceasefire which Moscow has so far not accepted.

Pope Leo XIV is vowing to actively promote and protect the spirituality and traditions of the eastern rite churches, those Catholic communities with origins in the Middle East and North Africa that have been decimated by conflict and persecution.

Pope Leo XIV may visit Ukraine on his first foreign trip - Türkiye and Peru are also under consideration, La Repubblica reports. Visit to Ukraine According to the media outlet, one of the potential countries for the Pope's first visit could be Ukraine,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to attend the inaugural Mass of newly elected Pope Leo at the Vatican on Sunday, war commitments permitting, a top presidential aide told Reuters on Tuesday.

Leo, who was born in Chicago, signed a baseball that someone held out to him. A woman in the line asked him for a selfie — a situation few of his predecessors would have faced in their first media outing. He politely declined, shook her hand and moved on.

Leo, who was elected the 267th leader of the Catholic Church last week, called for "the precious gift of free speech" to be protected and an end to a divisive "war of words" filled with prejudice and ideological attacks.

Robert Francis Prevost was a relatively low-profile cardinal from Chicago. But on May 8, the 69-year-old stunned the world when he emerged from the papal conclave as the new leader ... The post Pope Leo XIV’s brother reveals his stance on Trump’s policies appeared first on Newsner English.