Pope Francis rubs his eyes during an audience with children in San Damaso. AP photo.
Pope Francis said today that he will go to Ukraine, while stating that he is waiting for “the right time”, when a Ukrainian boy asked him during a meeting of the pontiff with a group of young people in the Vatican.
“I would like to go to Ukraine, but I have to wait for the right time”the pope replied to a ukrainian refugee boy who had asked him, during a meeting in the courtyard of San Dámaso, when he would go to kiev, according to local media.
Francisco stressed that at the moment the situation is not safe and announced that next week he will meet with representatives of the Ukrainian government, with whom, among other things, he will also discuss the possibility of a trip to the country in war, according to the same sources. .
The pope hugs the Ukrainian boy who asks him when he will go to his country, mired in the war. AP photo
Both the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, and the mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, invited the pontiff to go to the country, a visit that Francis has repeated on numerous occasions that he is willing to make, as part of his willingness to help in everything in his power to end the war.
Since the beginning of the war, on February 24, Francis has made several appeals to stop, has shown his willingness to “do everything” to help resolve the conflict and has sent several cardinals to show his closeness to the Ukrainian people. .
However, Vatican sources sometimes believe that it is practically impossible for Francis to go to the war zone, because to get what he is looking for he would also have to visit Russia.
“Going alone to Ukraine would mean excluding any possibility of helping an exit because it would show prejudice”, they underline. But going to Russia would require not only an invitation from the government – like any papal trip – but also a certain willingness to negotiate, “they say.
The Pope tried to go to Moscow and tried to communicate with Putin, but on the other side there was silence. “We have not yet received an answer and we continue to insist, although I fear that Putin cannot and does not want to have this meeting right now,” Francis said in early May.
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
