In the UK, The Telegraph reports:
The Vatican overturned protocol to ensure that Volodymyr Zelensky was given a front-row seat at the funeral of Pope Francis, along with Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.
...
Arcane rules dictated that world leaders be seated in alphabetical order according to the name of their country in French – the traditional language of diplomacy when the protocols were made.
As president of Ukraine, Mr Zelensky could have expected to be in the third row or even farther back. Instead, he was seated in the front row, 11 seats away from Mr Trump, who was on his right.
The Vatican did not deny that protocol rules had been bent. “I believe they filled a vacant place,” Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, told The Telegraph.
Zelensky - aka 'Hammer of the Orthodox Church' - is apparently the kind of guy the Catholic church admires as he is doing his bit to reduce the competition.
Protocol...schmotocol.