Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis on Saturday to discuss the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine amid the war, now in its 15th month, with the latter assuring the political leader of his "constant prayer" for his country.
Per usual, Zelenskyy showed up in a sweatshirt, but that was hardly the most inappropriate thing he did that day.
As is customary, the two parties presented each other with gifts. According to Vatican News, Francis gave the Ukrainian president an olive branch fashioned out of bronze as a symbol of peace, as well as the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, among other material.
Zelenskyy, who has been busy persecuting Christians at home, saw it fit to present the pope with what's being described as a "painting" titled "Loss of 2022-58," ostensibly meant to signify the killing of children during the conflict. The Vatican News report does show this "painting" in some of the photographs from the meeting but stops short of providing a detailed description.
As many are rightly pointing out, it's a blasphemous "icon" of the Mother of God with a black void where the Savior should be. "Despite the fact that journalists call [artist Oleksiy] Revika's work a 'painting,' it is very reminiscent of a parody of the Iberian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos," reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
During his visit to the Vatican Zelensky gifted Pope Francis an icon of Virgin Mary made by an ukrainian artist with blacked out Jesus. From prosecuting the canonical Orthodox Church at home to gifting blasphemous icons, Zelensky has truly shown his disdain for Christianity. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZERCkTgXGF
— Olga Bazova (@OlgaBazova) May 18, 2023
Yes, it’s real. The news websites didn’t mention that ugly painting too much because it’s embarrassing and heretical. pic.twitter.com/rJthNXB2sm
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 18, 2023
That's not all. He also presented the pope with what Vatican News describes as "a work of art crafted from a bulletproof plate."
Let's take a look:
#Vaticano Una piastra balistica dalle zone di conflitto come icona, dono del presidente ucraino #Zelensky a #PapaFrancesco pic.twitter.com/XdiioDc2a1
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_it) May 13, 2023
None of this is surprising coming from Zelenskyy, but most are not aware of how he's persecuting Orthodox Christians in his country. Tucker Carlson was one of the few, if only, mainstream voices speaking out against his actions.