Pope’s special envoy back in Moscow to push for hostage release and peace
Pope Francis’s personal peace envoy for the war in Ukraine is back in Russia. Italian Cardinal Mattel Zuppi arrived in Moscow on 14 October for the second time in an ongoing effort to promote humanitarian collaboration amid the ongoing conflict and to ultimately push for peace. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni in a statement confirmed Zuppi’s The post Pope’s special envoy back in Moscow to push for hostage release and peace appeared first on Catholic Herald.
Syndicated News 
Pope Francis’s personal peace envoy for the war in Ukraine is back in Russia. Italian Cardinal Mattel Zuppi arrived in Moscow on 14 October for the second time in an ongoing effort to promote humanitarian collaboration amid the ongoing conflict and to ultimately push for peace.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni in a statement confirmed Zuppi’s visit, saying that the cardinal “today began a new visit to Moscow, in the framework of the mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis last year”.
During his visit, Bruni said, Zuppi will “meet with authorities and evaluate further efforts to facilitate the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families and the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the much hoped for peace”.
Zuppi after his arrival met with Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov for a meeting which, according to a readout from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entailed an “in-depth discussion on cooperation in the humanitarian sphere in the context of the conflict around Ukraine”.
It also focused on “a number of topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda”, the statement said, adding that the conversation also highlighted the “constructive development of the Russia-Vatican dialogue”.
Pope Francis named Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, as his special envoy for peace in Ukraine in 2023.
In this capacity, Zuppi last summer embarked on four-part peace mission that took him to Kyiv from 5-6 June, and to Moscow from 28-29 June, where he met with top ecclesial and government officials, including Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.
He also met Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy Affairs, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner to the President of the Russian Federation for Children’s Rights.
Zuppi last year also travelled to Washington, DC, from 17-19 July, where he met with US President Joe Biden, delivering a letter from Pope Francis, and he later travelled to Beijing from 13-15 September, meeting with Li Hui, China’s Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The main purpose of Zuppi’s most recent to Moscow is to continue efforts to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia and to negotiate prisoner exchanges.
Olena Kondratiuk, vice president of the Ukrainian Parliament, in recent weeks announced that she had met with Zuppi to discuss his mission to Ukraine, and that numerous children had been returned home thanks to his efforts.
To this end, she thanked Zuppi and lauded what she said were the concrete results of the Holy See’s “humanitarian diplomacy”, including the release of two Redemptorist priests who were arrested by Russian forces in November 2022.
They were released by Russia in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine on 29 June, a move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky credited the Holy See with achieving.
Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who visited Ukraine over the summer, last month had a video conference with Tatiana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, during which he reiterated the need to ensure fundamental human rights enshrined in various international conventions amid the ongoing war.
Zuppi’s visit to Moscow this week comes after Pope Francis on 11 October met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican, marking the fourth meeting between the two, and the third since the war in Ukraine broke out following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Zelensky said in a social media post on X posted the same day as his meeting with the Pope that for Ukrainians, “the issue of captured and deported people remains incredibly painful”.
“These are adults and children, many civilians who are now held in prisons and camps in Russia,” he said, and referred to reports that a well-known Ukrainian journalist appears to have died in Russian captivity, marking a “heavy blow” to Ukrainians.
Many other public figures and community leaders, as well as countless ordinary citizens from occupied territories remain in captivity, he said, adding that “the issue of bringing our people home from captivity was the main focus of my meeting with Pope Francis”.
“We are counting on the Holy See’s assistance in helping to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken captive by Russia,” he said.
In a separate post, Zelensky noted that he also met with Parolin and with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
“We discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula, with a particular focus on the point regarding the return of deported children and the release of civilian hostages and prisoners of war,” Zelensky said, while noting they also discussed preparations for an upcoming conference on the Ukrainian Peace Formula set to take place in Canada from 30-31 October.
Zelensky said they also discussed Parolin’s recent visit to Ukraine, and he voiced hope that “this will help unite international efforts in the process of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Pope Francis, who has periodically come under fire from Ukrainians for questioning the morality of the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine, for suggesting that Russia had legitimate security concerns in the lead up to its invasion, and that Ukraine ought to consider raising a “white flag” to enable negotiations, appears to have changed his tone lately.
In his own 11 October post on X, the Pope said: “All nations have the right to exist in peace and security. Their territories must not be attacked, and their sovereignty must be respected and guaranteed through peace and dialogue. War and hatred bring only death and destruction for everyone.”
After a meeting between the Pope and Zelensky last May, Ukraine’s leader appeared to criticise the Vatican’s efforts to negotiate peace, saying at the time that Ukraine didn’t need a mediator, and that any peace agreement reached must be on Ukraine’s terms, as it was their territory that had been invaded.
The apparent shift in the Pope’s tone – at least his public tone – could signal a new willingness to appease on the part of the Holy See in order to maintain its seat at the table with Ukraine’s leaders.
Bruni in his statement did not indicate when Zuppi would return from Moscow, or whether he is expected to also make other related trips as part of his peace-making efforts.
Photo: Pope Francis speaks with Italian Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, 7 July 2024. (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images.)
The post Pope’s special envoy back in Moscow to push for hostage release and peace appeared first on Catholic Herald.
