Cardinal Parolin in Ukraine says he will talk to Zelensky about peace

Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived in Ukraine. July 19, 2024. Photo: Vaticannews

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, arrived in Ukraine on July 19. As reported by Vaticannews, Parolin mentioned that he plans to meet with the President of Ukraine.

On the evening of July 19, the papal legate arrived at the residence of the Curia of the Lviv Roman Catholic Archdiocese, where he was welcomed by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and local authorities.

The Vatican Secretary of State shared his plans for the visit in comments to Vatican media.

According to Parolin, in addition to participating in celebrations in Berdychiv, his visit to Ukraine is "also an opportunity to meet with the country's authorities, considering that I have long received a standing invitation to come to Ukraine in this situation of war."

"Therefore, after the Sunday celebrations, there will be an opportunity to meet with the authorities, starting, I suppose, with the President. There, of course, we will talk about peace, about possible prospects for peace," he said.

The papal envoy noted that this visit is another expression of the attention that Pope Francis continues to give to Ukraine.

"He is very hopeful for the establishment of peace: from the very beginning, the Pope has tried to find ways to end the war, to what has recently been called a just peace. We also talked about this in Bürgenstock (Switzerland) at the peace conference. Therefore, it is about closeness, prayer, and hope to find ways to end this war as soon as possible," concluded the Cardinal.

As the UOJ previously reported, political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko considers this to be a "significant visit" by the most influential figure in the Vatican.

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