Pope Francis is waiting for “the appropriate time” to visit Ukraine, according to that country’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash. Source: Religion News Service.
Mr Yurash has asked Pope Francis to visit Ukraine almost every time they’ve met for a private audience. Each time, the Pope has pointed to a folder resting on his desk containing the formal invitation from Ukrainian officials and said he is waiting “for the appropriate time”, Mr Yurash said.
Even though the war between Russia and Ukraine started in 2014, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 significantly escalated the conflict and brought it to the forefront of global conversations.
More than two years later, and after repeated appeals from Ukrainian religious and political leaders, the Pope has not visited Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, asked Pope Francis to visit Kyiv before the invasion in 2022, and has since repeated the invitation to the Holy Father.
For Mr Yurash, a papal visit would signify the “greatest step in the peace process in Ukraine.”
Every time the Pope has told him he is waiting for the right time to visit Ukraine, the ambassador said, he answered by stating that “anytime you come to Ukraine, it will be the appropriate time, because you will bring the most important thing: You will bring hope. You will bring a new energy. You will bring something unique and a sign of closeness from the Western civilisation, from the Western society, a message that we are all with you.”
In a 2022 interview with Reuters, Pope Francis had announced he would visit Kyiv only if he could travel to Moscow as well. The desire to avoid taking sides in a conflict reflects a long-standing Vatican approach to diplomacy and the hope of acting as a peace broker.
While Mr Yurash understands the good intentions of Vatican diplomacy, he was critical of the Pope’s efforts to influence the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Any negotiation can be possible if you have the second side,” he said, “but Russia has always been negative, not responding, not being polite, not being positive in any terms.”
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Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican believes a visit by Pope Francis would promote peace (By Claire Giangrave, RNS)
