With his presence in the Ukrainian capital, “the path to peace would be paved,” says Klitschko, although the Vatican gives no signs that the trip can take place.
After receiving the visit of the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia on Tuesday, the mayor of kyiv hopes that the next foreign leader to visit the Ukrainian capital to show his solidarity in the face of the Russian invasion will be Pope Francis. In a letter sent to the Vatican dated March 8, although its content was not made public until this Tuesday, the councilor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, assures that the presence of Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be decisive “in saving lives and paving the way towards peace in our city, our country and beyond.
“We call on you, as a spiritual leader, to show your compassion and support for the people of Ukraine by joining this call for peace,” says Klitschko, who was an international heavyweight boxing star before entering in politics. The mayor leaves the door open in the letter so that the Pope’s desired visit “is not possible”, so in that case he asks him to hold a conversation with him by videoconference in which the Ukrainian president, Volódimir Zelenski, could also participate. . Together with his brother, also a former boxer, Klitschko already made an invitation days ago through social networks to the world’s religious leaders to travel to kyiv to support the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression.
Although Francis has already visited other conflict zones such as Iraq last year and the Central African Republic in 2015, it does not appear that he will be traveling to this war-torn Eastern European nation at the moment. The Vatican confirmed the receipt of the invitation from the mayor of kyiv with a statement in which he expressed the Pope’s closeness “to the sufferings of the city, to its people, to those who have had to flee and to those who are called to administer it.” The note also reaffirmed Francis’ prayers and recalled his words about the war in Ukraine at last Sunday’s Angelus, but did not include a single word about the possibility that Bergoglio might undertake such a dangerous journey.
Mayor Klitschko is not the only one who hopes that a visit from Francis can help redirect the conflict. Even before the Russian invasion began, he repeatedly invited Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, to visit the country. “People say that if the Pope comes to Ukraine the war will end. His visit would be a gesture as a messenger of peace », commented Shevchuk at the beginning of February.
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