Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi has begun a new visit to Moscow as part of a peacekeeping mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis. The main purpose of the visit is to promote the reunification of Ukrainian families, the exchange of prisoners and the achievement of peace. This was reported by La Repubblica.
‘Today, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi began a new visit to Moscow as part of a mission entrusted to him last year by Pope Francis to meet with the authorities and assess further efforts to promote the reunification of families of Ukrainian children and the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the peace so much hoped for,’ confirmed Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
Earlier, on 11 October, Pope Francis held an audience with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During this meeting, Zelenskyy discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula and invited Vatican representatives to take part in a conference on the return of Ukrainian prisoners and deportees. The event will take place on 30-31 October in Canada at the ministerial level.
Zelenskyy emphasised the difficult conditions of the prisoners, including the wounded, seriously ill, women, children, and journalists. The President drew particular attention to the recent tragic death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity. He asked the Pope to facilitate the return of all Ukrainian journalists, public figures and community leaders who were captured. As part of the meeting, it was agreed that Ukraine would hand over a list of captured journalists to the Vatican.
Zelenskyy also noted that almost all Ukrainians returning from captivity need long-term medical care and rehabilitation.
