Vatican: “We remain available to facilitate mediation”
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Holy See secretary for relations with states and international organizations, expressed “deep concern” about the nearly two-year war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview to be published tomorrow in the diocesan magazine Roma Sette, an Avvenire supplement, Gallagher explains: “It is a stalemate while there are still victims on both sides. We remain available to facilitate the placement. What we can do is to help on a humanitarian level. We continue to use our good offices for prisoner exchanges and try to promote the project of repatriation of Ukrainian children. We must admit that the results of these efforts are modest. But we keep working. “
Regarding the possibility of a trip by Pope Francis, Gallagher explains that “the Pope remains very open to traveling to both Ukraine and Russia. We hope that it can happen. It is clear that it also depends on the parties to the conflict. I believe a visit from the Pope would be appreciated by both.”