Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, entrusted by Pope Francis to broker peace in Ukraine, said on Thursday that war “is a fratricidal machine” and that “the Ukrainian people long for peace”.
The cardinal, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), was tasked by the pope with leading a mission with the aim of “helping to reduce tensions in the conflict in Ukraine,” according to the Vatican secretary of state.
During a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and in the presence of the Italian bishops – who have been meeting for a few days – Zuppi recalled “the anguish in the soul of the Ukrainian people, who yearn for peace and weep for those who have not returned , swallowed up by the fratricide that is war”.
In the homily, the cardinal stressed the importance of courage to “listen, discern and decide for God and for the good of the Church” and the importance of unity, because “war begins when division is accepted.”
The cardinal pointed out that pessimism is a “dangerous poison” that “can be accompanied by intelligent judgments, but always turns into indifference. Everything can change and nothing is impossible for those who believe”.
“The gospel knows no boundaries (…), including boundaries that have not yet been explored and boundaries that may be hostile,” he added.
Already at the opening of the CIS meeting on Tuesday, Zuppi declared that war is “like a pandemic” that “affects everyone” and asked to reflect on Francis’ words about creative efforts for peace.
The cardinal was appointed by the pope to carry out the mission that Francis himself announced on his return from his trip to Hungary.
As the Vatican revealed on Saturday, Zuppi was appointed by Francis to “lead a mission that will contribute to easing tensions in the conflict in Ukraine in the hope, never abandoned by the Holy Father, of a start of the peace process”.
“The conditions of this mission and its modality are currently being studied,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Saturday.
In 1990, Zuppi mediated with the Community of Sant’Egidio, the civil war in Mozambique and in 2017 was also present at the handing over of the weapons of the Basque terrorist group ETA, in the French city of Bayonne (south).
Francis has called on several occasions for dialogue to end the war in Ukraine, which began with the invasion of Russia in February 2022.
Source: DN
