Second day of trip to Ukraine for Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi who today met with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting, as it transpires, was very cordial and the two discussed some key points to proceed in the direction of a stable and concrete dialogue. The peace mission desired by Pope Francis and finally postponed for a long time began yesterday with the arrival in Kiev in the morning of the pontiff’s envoy, the cardinal of Bologna and president of the CEI. (WAR IN UKRAINE. THE SPECIAL – LIVE UPDATES)
“Sincere, warm and important.” Thus the apostolic nuncio in Kiev, Visvaldas Kulbokas, commented on the meeting which took place in the Ukrainian capital between the Pope’s envoy and the Ukrainian president. “The cardinal was very grateful for the attention and for an important conversation aimed at gathering thoughts and reflections on the” political situation and humanitarian possibilities in Ukraine, “on which he will then have to reflect together with the Holy Father”, said Monsignor Kulbokas to journalists – including ANSA – present in front of the nunciature in Kiev where Zuppi stayed.
Yesterday’s arrival in Kiev, first visiting Bucha
Before arriving in Kiev, where he arrived around noon yesterday, Cardinal Zuppi went to Bucha, one of the places symbolizing the horror of this war. As reported yesterday in a press release from the Holy See, the pontifical mission has “the main purpose of listening in depth to the Ukrainian authorities about the possible ways to achieve a just peace and to support gestures of humanity that contribute to easing tensions”. Zuppi’s mission to date is exploratory and “listening”. All subsequent steps will be shared and decided with Pope Francis. At the moment, rumors of a possible subsequent trip have not been confirmed, indeed denied by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. in Moscow.
Meetings with the Ukrainian authorities
Yesterday Cardinal Zuppi met numerous representatives of the Ukrainian civil authorities: some “humanitarian diplomacy” dossiers on the table for which the Holy See could attempt to open corridors. After yesterday’s meeting, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See Andrii Yurash said that “Ukraine welcomes the Holy See’s interest in the bloody war”. After the meeting with Zelensky, Cardinal Zuppi’s mission will continue today with other meetings at the end of which the results of the mission in Ukraine and the steps that will be taken in the following weeks will be reported to the Pope.
Source-tg24.sky.it