File photo of a
meeting between Cardinal Parolin and President Zelensky (AFP or
licensors)
Call between Zelensky and Cardinal Parolin: Prayers for
Pope and appeal for peace
In a post on X, the Ukrainian president announces a
telephone conversation with the Vatican Secretary of State.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone with
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on Friday, March 14.
During the call, he conveyed his well wishes for Pope
Francis' recovery, expressed gratitude for the Holy See’s moral support for the
Ukrainian people, and acknowledged its efforts to facilitate the return of
children “illegally deported and displaced by Russia.”
The phone call comes in the wake of a US-mediated proposal
for a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow. The Kremlin is studying the proposal.
The conversation
President Zelensky shared news of the call with Cardinal
Parolin—whom he had previously met during the cardinal’s visit to Ukraine in
July—with a post on his X account. The conversation was later confirmed by
Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, during his daily briefing
with journalists.
“I spoke with the Secretary of State of the Holy See,
Cardinal Pietro Parolin. I wished Pope Francis a swift recovery and thanked him
for his prayers and moral support for our people, as well as for his efforts in
facilitating the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported and displaced
by Russia,” Zelensky wrote in his post.
“The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians detained in
Russian prisons and camps. We rely on its support for their release,” he added,
underscoring that a prisoner exchange and a 30-day ceasefire would be “the
first concrete steps” toward achieving “a just and lasting peace.” He affirmed
that “Ukraine is ready to take these steps because the Ukrainian people desire
peace more than anyone else.” Zelensky also emphasized that “the voice of the
Holy See is very important in the path toward peace.”
Efforts for minors and prisoners
This is not the first time the Ukrainian leader has publicly
thanked the Holy See for its efforts in securing the release of over 19,000
Ukrainian minors forcibly taken to Russia and in facilitating prisoner
exchanges. Since the onset of the conflict, Zelensky has appealed to Vatican
diplomacy for intervention on these critical humanitarian issues. He reiterated
these requests during his first wartime audience with Pope Francis in 2023 and
again during their most recent meeting on October 11, 2024. Zelensky has met
with the Pope four times, three of those in the Vatican and one during a
bilateral meeting at the G7 summit in Puglia, southern Italy.
Cardinal Zuppi’s mission
In 2024, Zelensky also used X to express gratitude to the
Holy See for its efforts in securing the release of two Redemptorist priests,
Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta, who were arrested in November 2022 and later
freed in a prisoner exchange on June 29, 2024. The Ukrainian president also
praised the diplomatic mission led by Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, which aimed
to ease tensions in the conflict. Zuppi’s mission included visits not only to
Kyiv but also to Moscow, Washington, and Beijing, where he engaged in dialogue
with both political and ecclesiastical representatives.
As Cardinal Parolin has reiterated on several occasions,
Zuppi’s mission played a key role in establishing a mechanism for prisoner
exchanges and the repatriation of Ukrainian children. This was also confirmed
by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with
States and International Organizations, during the Peace Formula Conference in
Montreal, an initiative proposed by Zelensky in October 2024. A central topic
of discussion was the fourth proposal in the ten-point Peace Formula: the
“release of all prisoners and deportees.”
Gallagher emphasized that humanitarian assistance has been a
primary focus of Cardinal Zuppi’s mission to Kyiv and Moscow. His efforts have
led to the establishment of a framework for the repatriation of children and
regular exchanges of information between both sides, including online meetings
involving apostolic nuncios in Ukraine and Russia—Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas
and Archbishop Giovanni d’Aniello, respectively.
“The presence of the two apostolic nuncios is valuable in
facilitating dialogue,” Archbishop Gallagher explained. He noted that Kulbokas,
in particular, has identified Catholic institutions prepared to receive
families with repatriated children. Meanwhile, the Holy See continues to
request updated lists of deported children, has submitted thousands of names of
prisoners in calls for their release, and has urged Russian authorities to
return the bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers.
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