2023-07-17 13:13:00
July 17, 2023 / 6:13 a.m.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi will travel this Monday, July 17, to Washington (United States) to continue with the peace mission in Ukraine entrusted to him by Pope Francis.
The Holy See Press Office informed through a statement of this third stage of the mission entrusted to the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, who also visited Kiev on June 5 and 6 and Moscow from June 28 to 30.
As envoy of Pope Francis and to continue with the mission to promote peace in the country at war, the Cardinal intends, according to the Holy See, “exchange ideas and opinions on the current tragic situation”.
Likewise, it will support “initiatives in the humanitarian field to alleviate the suffering of the most affected and fragile people, especially children”.
The Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) will remain in the US capital accompanied by an official from the Secretary of State until Wednesday, July 19.
On May 20, the Vatican reported that Pope Francis had entrusted Cardinal Zuppi with the task of leading a mission to help bring about peace in Ukraine.
During the closing press conference of the Permanent Council of the CEI, the Cardinal reiterated the objective of his missionstressing that in the conflict that has been going on for a year and a half in Ukraine, Pope Francis is implicated “to tears”, in reference to his letter to the Ukrainian people released on November 25, 2022.
After his trip to kyiv, the Vatican reported that “the results of such colloquia, such as the one held with religious representatives, as well as the direct experience of the appalling suffering of the Ukrainian people because of the ongoing war they will be brought to the attention of the Holy Father.”
These, the Vatican statement specified, “will undoubtedly be useful to evaluate the steps to follow, both at the humanitarian level and in the search for paths towards a just and lasting peace.”
Likewise, during his visit to Moscow (Russia), he met with Yuri Ushakov, assistant to the president of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy Affairs, and with Patriarch Kirill, “to whom he conveyed the greetings of the Holy Father and with whom he also spoke of humanitarian initiatives that could facilitate a peaceful solution”.
He also spoke with Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner of the President of the Russian Federation for the Rights of the Child.
On more than one occasion, Pope Francis has expressed his great concern for the “martyred” Ukrainian people, who have suffered the invasion and attacks by the Russian army since February 24, 2022.
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Since the start of the invasion, the Holy Father has made several appeals and has sought ways to end the conflict.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú is a Spanish journalist, correspondent for ACI Prensa in Rome and the Vatican, with four years of experience in religious information.
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