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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/08100552\/20260907T0600-ANGELUS-POPE-LEO-SEPT-6-1825750-scaled.jpg\" "\\"WITKOFF")
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Pope Leo XIV once again appealed for peace in Ukraine and prayed that U.S.-led negotiation efforts would finally bring an end to the death and destruction<\/a> caused by the conflict now in its fourth year.<\/p>\n \u201cI renew my appeal to put an end to the violence, to stop the destruction and to open hearts to dialogue and peace,\u201d the pope said Sept. 6 after leading pilgrims gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square in praying the Angelus.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that the efforts undertaken in these days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and open space for diplomacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Russia stepped up its attacks against Ukraine, launching a series of devastating attacks at the end of August and into September. According to a Sept. 1 report by The Associated Press, a Russian military bombing of the capital city of Kyiv<\/a> over a 12-hour period killed over a dozen people.<\/p>\n The attacks, according to AP, target civilian infrastructure and residential buildings. For its part, Ukrainian drone attacks over the summer targeted Russian retailers and oil refineries.<\/p>\n Commenting on the continued Russian strikes, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that such attacks that deliberately target civilians \u201cat the most vulnerable moments of their lives\u201d were \u201cstate terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst thing is that the enemy is using modern means, including unmanned systems, to attack residential areas at night,\u201d he said in a video message published Sept. 6, adding that during the day, especially after Sept. 1, when the academic year began in Ukraine, Russia \u201cdeliberately attacks schools, universities, and dormitories.\u201d<\/p>\n In his appeal, Pope Leo said he followed news of the violent attacks in Ukraine \u201cwith a sorrowful heart,\u201d while lamenting the \u201cdeaths of innocent people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart goes out to the suffering people, who for years have lived in anguish and fear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Expressing his hope for diplomacy to resume, Pope Leo called on the faithful to \u201craise our prayers to the Lord, so that harmony may prevail in all the conflicts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n However, both countries temporarily halted strikes with the arrival of U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Moscow Sept. 5 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the following day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n While the talks with Putin were described as \u201cconstructive,\u201d there was no concrete sign that either country was back on the negotiating table. At a Sept. 6 press conference, Zelenskyy said he was seeking security guarantees from the United States to prepare defenses for the coming winter months, AP reported.<\/p>\n In his talk before praying the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the day\u2019s second reading from St. Paul\u2019s Letter to the Romans, in which the apostle proclaims the commandments can be summed up in one saying: \u201cYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Turning his attention to the Sunday Gospel reading from St. Matthew, the pope said Jesus suggests two ways of practicing mutual love, the first one being \u201ccapable of fraternal correction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a delicate art, too often forgotten, that calls for frankness and a gradual approach,\u201d he explained. \u201cSpeaking honestly with one another \u2014 first face to face, then, if necessary, with two or three others, and finally, when required, with the whole community \u2014 means facing reality and transforming problems and conflicts into opportunities for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n While complaining or talking behind one\u2019s back is easier, the pope said neither accomplishes anything and often leaves \u201cmany situations paralyzed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Gospel, instead, teaches us the freedom that comes through charity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The second way of mutual love, he continued, is \u201ccoming to an agreement,\u201d not just when there is a conflict but also when \u201casking God for some gift.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithout faith, each person might feel alone and become suspicious of others, seeing them as strangers and enemies,\u201d Pope Leo said. \u201cBy grace, however, we are brothers and sisters who can live in harmony: meeting one another, forgiving one another and listening to one another in the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>The \u2018delicate art\u2019 of fraternal correction<\/h3>\n