ROME — The Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, has invited Pope Francis to come pray at the mass graves of “innocent victims massacred by the Russian army.”
The program of a visit by Pope Francis to Ukraine is still “the subject of negotiation,” he said, but the pope has a standing invitation and “we expect the pontiff to come to Kyiv.”
Along with visiting the nation’s capital, the ambassador proposed that Francis visit the graves of war victims such as the 1,400 who were slaughtered in Bucha, just 15 km from Kiev, and that he “pause in prayer” there.
On August 6, the pope met with Yurash in the Vatican to discuss a possible visit to Kyiv, after which the ambassador said the trip might take place before the pontiff’s trip to Kazakhstan, scheduled for September 13-15.
Ukraine has waited for the pope for many years, especially since the start of the war, and “will be happy to greet him before his trip to Kazakhstan,” Yurash said.
Pope Francis renewed his appeal for an end to war Sunday, condemning the “bestiality” of the Russian war on Ukraine. https://t.co/x4l69SGMxa
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 27, 2022
Yurash cited the pope as saying, “I am very close to Ukraine and want to express this closeness through my visit to Ukraine.”
Regarding timing for such a visit, the Latin Archbishop of Lviv has warned that it would be a “disaster” for Francis to visit Russia before going to Ukraine, and hinted that if that should happen, Ukrainian borders might even be closed to the pope.
“Not only the Greek Catholic faithful, but also we do not agree with all the gestures of the Holy Father towards Russia; but perhaps we do not understand his intentions and policy well,” said Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, who leads the Latin rite community in Ukraine, which numbers about 1.5 million.
“Let’s hope that the pope has good intentions and, with his way of acting, will soon bring peace to Ukraine,” Mokrzycki said.
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