Pope Francis’ envoy of peace will visit Moscow this Wednesday and Thursday, after visiting the Ukrainian capital, the Vatican said in a statement today.
The main purpose of Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s visit to Russia is “to encourage human gestures that can help promote a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve just peace,” said the released note.
Earlier this month, Matteo Zuppi, also Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, was in Kiev with the same goal that he is now leaving for Russia. The pope’s envoy made it a priority to “listen attentively to the Ukrainian authorities about possible ways to achieve a just peace”.
During his visit to Kiev, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who told him that a ceasefire would not lead to peace.
At the time of Zuppi’s trip to Ukraine, the Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no scheduled meeting with the Pope’s envoy.
In May, Pope Francis asked the Italian cardinal “to ease tensions” in Ukraine, hoping to facilitate peace between Kiev and Moscow.
Matteo Zuppi, 67, comes from the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, which specializes in diplomacy and peace efforts.
The Pope, remember, received Zelensky at the Vatican in May and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal a few weeks earlier.
By the way, Shmyhal invited the Pope to visit Ukraine, and also asked for help in the case of children who were forcibly taken to Russia.
Source: DN
