This is a complex issue, but the statement “Catholics support Russia” is overly broad and doesn’t reflect general sentiment among Catholics.
It’s true that Pope Francis sparked controversy when, in a 2024 interview with a Swiss broadcaster, he suggested Ukraine should have “the courage of the white flag” and sue for peace to end the conflict with Russia, according to Reuters. Tensions also run between the Russian Orthodox Church—whose leadership has strongly backed Putin—and Ukraine’s Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (which includes Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders). In 2024, that council accused Patriarch Kirill’s Moscow Patriarchate of justifying “pogroms and restrictions on religious freedom” and “cynically trampling God’s decrees and elementary standards of universal morality,” condemning the Russian Orthodox Church as “an accomplice in the Russian invaders’ bloody crimes against humanity” .
Critics argue the Vatican has not done enough to condemn the war. Although the Holy See—an official UN observer—traditionally champions the UN’s four pillars, most Vatican statements since February 2022 consist of general calls for peace, laments about UN impotence, or critiques of the system’s dysfunction rather than explicit denunciations of Russian aggression. Still, The New York Times notes that Pope Francis had repeatedly expressed solidarity with Ukrainians, calling them “martyred”—and that some Ukrainian Catholics at an international youth meeting felt his rhetoric fell short of a stronger condemnation, suggesting they themselves do not support Russia.
Surveys back this up: a 2023 study by the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) found that 92% of Ukrainian Greek Catholics oppose any peace negotiations with Russia and view Russia negatively in the context of the war. Moreover, The Financial Times reports that the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose explicit, unequivocal support for Ukraine was “met with appreciation from Ukrainians and especially the country’s Catholics,” further illustrates where Catholic sentiment now lies.
