Could the Pope stop World War 3? No, this isn’t about Ukraine. Aside from the fact that ship largely appears to have sailed, the chances of the war in eastern Europe developing into a full-blown international conflict (currently) appear remote. The West has refused to impose a no-fly-zone, instead limiting itself to arming Ukraine, which is bogged down in a war of attrition. Besides, the Pope’s power to seriously intervene appear limited, aside from suggesting the war was “perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented”.