Before the opening of the world meeting on June 10 on human fraternity entitled “Not Alone”, Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with journalists. He returned to the hospitalization of Pope Francis but also to the recent mission of Cardinal Zuppi in Ukraine.
Interview by Amedeo Lomonaco – Vatican City
Before the opening of the world meeting on human fraternity entitled “Not alone“, this Saturday, June 10, Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with journalists. Responding in particular to a question about the health of Pope Francis, the Vatican Secretary of State declared that the Sovereign Pontiff “is doing well”. “The operation went well, the news I have received apart from what has been published, said the cardinal, is that the evolution is positive and that the Pope has already expressed the desire to resume the work; so it’s a good sign”.
War in Ukraine: the Holy See focuses on humanitarian aspects
Cardinal Parolin also spoke about the conflict in Ukraine: “We will now report to the Pope what happened during the visit of Cardinal Zuppi, who has returned, and then we will reflect together on what to do next”. The mission of the President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, the Secretary of State then declared, “went very well”: “there was also the meeting with President Zelensky, which was not considered a evidence”. There was also the opportunity to deepen “the concepts that the president had already expressed to the Holy Father”. These include the “peace plan which they would like to see receive the broadest consensus from the international community”. “Cardinal Parolin explained that the Holy See could certainly be involved in this plan, but we will now see how, especially with regard to the humanitarian aspects”. That, he added, “might be the specific area we could work in as well.”
Possible meeting between Cardinal Zuppi and Patriarch Kirill
The Cardinal also answered a question about a possible meeting between Cardinal Zuppi and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow: “We haven’t talked about the visit to Moscow yet, we must first inform the Holy Father, see what are its guidelines. But I believe that there would be no difficulty in meeting Patriarch Kirill”. Regarding the situation of children deported to Russia, the Vatican Secretary of State then stressed that it was a “very, very delicate question”. “It’s about finding formulas but it’s not easy; we also intend to continue working in this direction”.
The way of brotherhood
Finally, returning to the meeting of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates in the framework of the “Not Alone” event, Cardinal Parolin declared that it was a “commitment on the part of all to work in the sense of human fraternity”. The meaning of this day, he added, is “that there be a concrete commitment to overcoming conflicts through this great path that the Pope indicated to us in the encyclical Fratelli Tutti: that of fraternity” .
This article is originally published on vaticannews.va
