Zelensky’s “Gift” to Pope Francis Sends a Clear Message: the Future of Ukraine Won’t Be Ecumenical

Erstwhile geopolitical “partners” Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky just turned a bit more hostile. On May 16, the Ukrainian President appeared for a photo-op with the Pope and a meeting, showcasing a bizarre and terrifying gift: an “icon” of the Thetokos and Christ with Christ’s figure completely blackened out, painted on a bulletproof vest. Despite Zelensky’s weird claim that this was a symbol for children lost through the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Pope, usually one to ignore such subtlety in the name of ecumenism, was horrified and offended by the “icon”, according to various sources. Further details make clear this is an anti-Christian mockery: the lettering around the Theotokos identifying her was also removed, replaced with a cryptic reference to the year. Per TASS:
“Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who met with Pope Francis on Saturday, presented the pontiff with gifts that are offensive to Christian believers, the il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper wrote.

The controversial item is an icon of Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, who is depicted only as a black outline.

“It was supposed to symbolize the ‘loss’ of Ukrainian children in the conflict, but to the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the ‘loss’ of Child Jesus means the loss of the Messiah, the loss of the reason to exist for the institute of the church itself,” the paper quoted a prominent journalist, historian and former senator Raniero La Valle as saying.

In his opinion, the picture in fact symbolizes “erasing Christ from the cross and the denial of his resurrection.”

Another present by Zelensky was the painting of Madonna, made on a fragment of a bulletproof vest, against the bloody red background with stripes in colors of the Ukrainian flag.”

The “bloodying” of Christian imagery as a gift to the Pope sends a very clear message that promoting “ecumenical Christianity” is as off-the-table as promoting official Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which the Kiev government has been heavily persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. When the Pope rejected Zelensky’s 10-point plan and reiterated his wish to help mediate, Zelensky left and stated later that he had no need for mediators. We can’t help but wonder just what kind of Ukrainian state Zelensky is trying to build.