Italian Cardinal Mario Zuppi began a new visit to Moscow on October 14, 2024, the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed. The archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops’ conference is returning to Russia to continue his diplomatic mission for the exchange of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian minors forcibly taken to Russia.
Sixteen months after his first trip to Moscow, Cardinal Mario Zuppi, 69, has embarked on a new trip to Russia as part of a peace mission for Ukraine entrusted to him by Pope Francis.
He 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 long-awaited peace,” explained Matteo Bruni soberly, without specifying the Italian cardinal’s agenda.
During his last trip to Moscow, on June 28-29, 2023, Cardinal Zuppi, who has strong ties to the Sant’Egidio community — a Catholic lay community very active on the diplomatic front — met with Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow. In the Russian capital, Cardinal Zuppi’s highest-level political contact was President Putin’s advisor on international affairs, Yuri Ushakov. He also met Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights, since 19,000 Ukrainian minors were forcibly taken to Russia.
Three days after Zelensky’s visit to the Vatican
The Italian cardinal’s latest visit to Moscow comes three days after Pope Francis met with Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome.
“The issue of the return of our fellow citizens in captivity was at the heart of my meeting with Pope Francis,” the Ukrainian president explained in a tweet on Friday. “We are counting on the Holy See’s help to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken prisoner by Russia,” he added.
Last September, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, spoke with Tatiana Moskalkova, the Russian Federation’s Commissioner for Human Rights. He called for “assistance to Ukrainian military prisoners in the Russian Federation and the mutual exchange of soldiers held in Russia and Ukraine.” A few weeks earlier, the Holy See’s number 2 had visited Kiev and been received by President Zelensky.
Mixed reception of Vatican offers of mediation
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Holy See has offered to mediate to bring about dialogue and silence the guns in Ukraine. The Pope has been relying both on his official diplomacy and on Cardinal Zuppi’s experience and ties with the Sant’Egidio community.
But in May 2023, after an audience at the Vatican, the Ukrainian head of state showed little enthusiasm for the idea of Vatican mediation. He made it clear that he sees the only possible peace plan is the one drawn up by the Ukrainians themselves, as victims of Russian aggression. Nevertheless, he said he was counting on the Holy See for its humanitarian action.
Relations between Ukraine and the Holy See have gone through several phases of tension, given Pope Francis’ line of keeping the channels of communication open with Russia. The Pope continuously insists that in any crisis, dialogue must be kept open.
The mediation undertaken since 2023 by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has visited Kiev, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing to work for the release of hostages and prisoners, is nevertheless appreciated by the Ukrainian government.
In June, after the return of 10 prisoners — including two Catholic priests — as part of an exchange, President Zelensky personally thanked the Vatican for its role in the transaction.
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