Religious expert: Pope to demand that Zelensky repeal Law 3894-IX
Pope Francis and Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Reuters
On October 11, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports the Voice of America.
Zelensky has already arrived at the Vatican. It is expected that the meeting will address issues related to the Ukrainian peace formula, the return of prisoners and abducted children, as well as support for Ukraine from the Vatican in South American and African countries.
According to Ukrainian religious expert Liudmyla Fylypovych, considering the significant role of the Catholic Church in Latin America, Zelensky may ask the Pope to influence the leadership of these countries to support Ukraine, as Argentina has already done.
Fylypovych also believes that the issue of the "ban on the Russian Orthodox Church" in Ukraine will be raised during the meeting.
"The Pope will want President Zelensky to adhere to the guarantees provided to various religious organizations in Ukraine and will request that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which maintains ties with the ROC, not be touched, as it is seen to be God’s and has 5 million followers and about 9,000 parishes," the religious scholar stated.
Nevertheless, she is confident that Zelensky, considering the position of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is unlikely to make concessions on this issue. "He may refer to the European-wide resolution condemning the activities of this Church as justification for Russia's military aggression against Ukraine," she added.
As reported by the UOJ, the Pope has called on the Ukrainian authorities not to ban the Church.
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