A senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has labeled Pope Francis as “pro-Russian” and “not credible,” flatly rejecting any prospect that the Vatican might play mediating role in the current Russian war in the country.

The advisor also suggested that the pope’s line on the war may be influenced by Russian investments in the Vatican bank.

Pope Francis “unknowingly is cancelling the reputation of the Holy See,” said Mykhailo Podolyak in an interview with Ukraine’s Channel 24 news service on Friday.

“It doesn’t make sense to speak of a mediator called the pope if he assumes a pro-Russian position, which is evident to everyone,” Podolyak said. “It wasn’t the first time, but before it happened in a somewhat confused way and we pretended not to see.”

Podolyak, a senior advisor to the Office of the President in Ukraine, spoke in the wake of a controversy that erupted in late August after Pope Francis praised the legacy of “Great Mother Russia” in a video conference with Russian Catholic youth gathered in St. Petersburg.

Francis attempted to smooth things over in comments to reporters aboard the papal plane after his recent visit to Mongolia, insisting that he wasn’t praising Russian imperialism but rather its culture. Podolyak, however, clearly wasn’t persuaded.

“Today it’s clear he has a pro-Russian position, and this reflects in an extremely negative way on the war,” Podolyak said. “If a person clearly promotes the right of Russia to kill the citizens of another country on another sovereign territory, he’s promoting the war. We have to call things by name.”

“The Vatican can’t have any role of mediation: It would deceive Ukraine, or justice,” Podolyak said.

Photo: Senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Mykhailo Podolyak

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