The Vatican is participating in a secret peacekeeping mission to try to "end the war between Russia and Ukraine."
This was stated by Pope Francis to journalists during the flight home after a three-day visit to Hungary, Reuters cites.
"There is currently a mission underway, but it has not been made public yet. When it is made public, I will talk about it," the Pope noted.
He is also ready to help the repatriation of Ukrainian children deported by Russia.
"The Holy See is ready to do this [to assist in the repatriation of children] because it is the right thing to do. All human gestures help, but gestures of cruelty do not. We have to do everything humanly possible," Francis said on the plane.
The Pope added that he spoke about the situation in Ukraine with the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán and with Metropolitan Hilarion, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, against whom Ukraine has imposed sanctions. "We talked about all this. Everyone is interested in the journey to peace," the Pope said.
- Since February 24, 2022, the Pope has called for peace almost every week and has repeatedly stated that he wants to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, as well as that he wants to visit Ukraine and Russia on a peacekeeping mission.