The meeting between Pope Francis and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled for today at 4 pm in the “Paul VI” hall at the Vatican. And this summit could be “a decisive diplomatic hub, a first big step towards a real peace mediation of the Holy See”. This is claimed by Don Stefano Caprio, a former missionary in Russia from 1989 to 2002, professor of Russian history and culture at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome since 2007. While the Moscow agency Tass states – quoting “a Vatican source” – that the face “is not directly linked” to the “mission” of which the Pontiff spoke in recent days.
What could the Bishop of Rome ask of Zelensky?
«The most relevant request may be not to continue the escalation of the conflict, that is to say, to block the counter-offensive, as far as possible. To seek de-escalation.”
Could the interview be a turning point in Vatican diplomacy?
«Yes, because the Pope has always offered his willingness to mediate, and tomorrow’s appointment (today, ed) can represent a first big step in that direction, which is part of the “mission” of peace. Even more so if the weapons can be stopped soon. For the Vatican, mediation begins with the proposal for an armistice, and if Zelensky has agreed to dialogue with the Pope, he may mean that, somehow, I am not saying that he has decided to make an armistice, but that he could move towards this street. The armistice does not affect or change the positions in the field: everyone would declare that they continue to seek the end of the war according to their own interests and convictions. But in the meantime, the shooting would stop.”
For the Holy See, reconciliation can only be achieved through relations with both parties: this idea seems to be little shared internationally. What do you think?
“It is true. He leans more toward someone’s victory than a ceasefire. This is the real difference with the Pope’s diplomacy. Everyone, politically and militarily, aims for success, also because it would become an ideological flag: the triumph of the East or the West. The only state that has no political interests to defend is the Vatican itself”.
Can you describe the Pope’s diplomacy for us?
“The Holy Father has always defended Ukraine without ever closing the door to the Kremlin. There have been joint projects with Russia for several years. Strengthened by the meeting between Francis and the patriarch of Moscow Kirill in Havana in 2016. These are cultural and charitable initiatives that keep us in continuous contact with the people of the Moscow Patriarchate. All this stopped because of the war. And also as a consequence of some innovations within the Patriarchate, such as the transfer of Metropolitan Hilarion to Hungary. However, his successor Antonij of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department of External Relations, is another figure who has always had close ties across the Tiber. And then, in Moscow there is the apostolic nuncio, Monsignor Giovanni D’Aniello, and there is the Italian archbishop, Monsignor Paolo Pezzi, both very active. The nuncio in Kiev, Monsignor Visvaldas Kulbokas, was the translator for the meeting in Havana. And as prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, the Pontiff has chosen Claudio Gugerotti, who was nuncio in Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Great Britain, and knows the situation well. Even if at the moment it is impossible to reach a complete pacification from a political, military and religious point of view, I am sure that everyone is doing and will do their part to save what can be saved and prepare for a reconciled future ».