Jumping straight into the geopolitical fray, the words of the U.S.-born pontiff are meant to single out Vladimir Putin — a notable difference with Pope Francis. The timing may also be just right to help his fellow American,

Pope Leo XIV had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday and spoke about ceasefire proposals, Zelenskiy said, in the first known conversation between the newly-elected pontiff and a foreign leader.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, previously known as Robert Francis Prevost, gave his first Sunday blessing as pope and called for peace in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and a ceasefire in Gaza.