Francesco Pierantoni / Wikimedia Commons (Left), Tong Su / Unsplash (Right)
CV NEWS FEED // Papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi on October 14 began his visit to Moscow to seek peace with Ukraine.
Vatican News reports that Pope Francis named Cardinal Zuppi as his special envoy for pursuing peace between Russia and Ukraine in 2023. Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni confirmed that the visit to Moscow is part of Cardinal Zuppi’s peace mission.
Bruni stated that Cardinal Zuppi will meet with Russian authorities and “assess 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.”
The Moscow Times reports that on October 14, Cardinal Zuppi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia’s foreign ministry office released a statement after the meeting that Lavrov and the Cardinal discussed “humanitarian cooperation around the conflict in Ukraine.”
The Moscow Times further reports that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, whom the news agency describes as “a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin and the offensive in Ukraine,” is not expected to meet Cardinal Zuppi this year.
However, both the Moscow Times and Vatican News report that Patriarch Kirill met with Cardinal Zuppi between June 28-30, 2023. During that visit, the Cardinal also met with 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.
The Cardinal also visited Ukraine June 5-6, 2023, Vatican News reported. He met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials at the time.
