But for those hoping that he might take up their cause at World Youth Day, there was disappointment, just as there was last year when Francis delivered a prayer for peace that consecrated both Russia and Ukraine to Mary, leaving many Ukrainians feeling lumped in with their aggressors. “He said he was impotent in front of this evil,” Father Demush said after the meeting, adding that the pope had expressed frustration at being unable to stop the violence. Mostly, he said, the pope listened intensely as the young Ukrainian pilgrims spoke about their suffering in the war and the friends and family they had lost. Dmytro Bohak, 19, said he had told the pope about injuries he suffered while driving ambulances and other vehicles into Ukraine. “We want the pope to be clear, in an understandable way, that Russia is a terrorist state.”

---

Persons: Francis, Mary, “, Father Demush, Valentyna Velychko, Dmytro Bohak, Bohak, “ It’s, ” Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Melitopol