“There may be a fear that the visit could be used by different sides,” Kryvytskyi said, adding that some topics related to the visit are being handled at the Vatican and he could not discuss all of them.
Kryvytskyi said he personally invited Leo XIV when they met last October and repeated an invitation from the All‑Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.
“This topic is on the agenda; the case, so to speak, is on the desk of the [Vatican] secretary of state or the pope himself,” he said.
The bishop added the pope told him the time for a visit had not yet come and that there are “certain reasons” the pontiff cannot travel to Ukraine now.
Kryvytskyi noted that papal legates have visited Ukraine during the Russo–Ukrainian war. Secretary of State Pietro Parolin attended Ukraine’s 30th independence anniversary in 2021.
“Visits by cardinals are, in a sense, the pope’s presence when he cannot come personally,” Kryvytskyi said. “It’s not only a question of security. Some say it’s about ensuring his safety, but that is not the main issue.”
On Dec. 9, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met
with Pope Leo XIV in Rome. Zelenskyy wrote on social media that he briefed the pontiff
on diplomatic efforts to achieve peace and invited him to Ukraine, calling a
visit “a strong sign of support for our people.”