Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi met with President Joe Biden to discuss the Vatican’s humanitarian efforts in war-torn Ukraine.
Newsroom (22/07/2023 06:30, Gaudium Press) Vatican News reported that the Holy See Press Office said that the cardinal also handed Biden a letter “emphasizing the Pope’s sorrow for the suffering caused by the war.”
A statement from the White House following the two-and-a-half-hour meeting read:
“They … discussed the Holy See’s efforts providing humanitarian aid to address the widespread suffering caused by Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine, as well as the Vatican’s advocacy for the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children.”
The Ukrainian government says that Russia forcibly deported thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia after the invasion last year.
In April, Pope Francis said the Holy See intends to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children.
“It is a question of humanity before it is a question of the spoils of war or a displacement caused by war,” the pope said. “All human gestures help, but gestures of cruelty do not help. We must do everything humanly possible.”
Pope Francis in June appointed Zuppi as his special envoy. A Vatican statement before the meeting, which was part of a three-day visit to the nation’s capital, stated that the goal of Zuppi’s meeting was to promote peace and support humanitarian efforts.
According to the White House statement, Biden also “shared his wishes for Pope Francis’ continued ministry and global leadership and welcomed the recent nomination of a U.S. archbishop as cardinal [Archbishop Robert Prevost].”
Zuppi’s visit “seeks to facilitate the exchange of ideas and opinions regarding the current tragic situation as well as to provide support for humanitarian initiatives aimed at alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable people, particularly children,” a statement from the Vatican said.
In early June, Zuppi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other political and religious leaders in Kyiv. He also met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill during a visit to Moscow near the end of June.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
