According to the statement, the main goal of the initiative is to get a thorough understanding of the position of the Ukrainian leadership regarding how they envision achieving a just peace and reducing tension.
On Sunday, Pope Francis once again stood for peace and spoke out against war when he gave an interview for the first time in the studio of the RAI1 television channel.
“This story is as old as humanity itself. With peace, we always win. Maybe just a little, but still. With war, we lose everything. Everything!” – said the pope.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis and the Vatican have offered to mediate, but their efforts have so far been fruitless.
Zuppi was appointed cardinal by the pope in 2019 and was elected president of the college of bishops at last year’s Italian bishops’ conference. He will be in the Ukrainian capital on Monday and Tuesday as the Pope’s delegate.
Matteo Zuppi comes from the Rome-based Sant’Egidio community, which is an advocate of peace and justice, and through his successful mediation in 1992, the Mozambican civil war that claimed around one million lives was ended.
