Europe “has only seemed capable of supplying arms to Ukraine, which was unjustly attacked by Russian troops, but not of proposing and pursuing concrete negotiating paths to end the bloody conflict,” said Tornielli. “And now, following similar initiatives by other world powers, Europe is preparing to invest the exorbitant sum of 800 billion euros in weapons.”

Tornielli suggested that EU leaders should instead have worked with the Trump administration to develop a peace initiative:

The expected and foreseeable geopolitical shift with the change of leadership in the White House could have led to a common initiative along the lines suggested by the Pope, aimed at ending the carnage taking place in the heart of Christian Europe. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin recently stated in an interview: “Authentic peace arises from the involvement of all parties. Everyone must have something; in a compromise, no one can have everything, and everyone must be willing to negotiate.”

The Pope’s message was played in St. Peter’s square on Thursday evening, as Catholics gathered—as they have gathered each day—to pray for him. “”I thank you with all my heart for the prayers you offer for my health,” he said.

The implementation phase will focus on the reception of the synod’s final document. Following the publication of a support document in May 2025, the plans envision diocesan evaluation assemblies in the first half of 2027, national evaluation assemblies in the second half of 2027, and continental evaluation assemblies in the first half of 2028.