Pope Francis is unlikely to interfere in the internal Orthodox issues in an attempt to resolve the conflict between the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (the so-called UOC-MP), as this is not his task.
Such an opinion on the pontiff’s forthcoming visit to Ukraine was expressed by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, in an interview with the Glavkom outlet.
The Pope will not place special emphasis on the said issue, the envoy believes.
“He wants to create a prayerful atmosphere that will resolve issues of peace and dialogue, communication of all with all, including all religious communities, in order to achieve peace,” the Glavkom quoted the diplomat as saying.
On this occasion, Andriy Yurash touched upon the possible unification of Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Orthodox. According to him, such a prospect, for the most part, depends on the religious communities of Ukraine themselves and requires concrete steps within Ukraine’s society.
“Any unification initiative is good. If we talk about the OCU and the UGCC, the leaders of both churches have said many times that they are committed to dialogue and the strategic goal is to unite and return to the original unity that existed in Ukrainian Christianity since the baptism of Rus by Volodymyr,” the diplomat said.
It should be recalled that on December 14, 2021, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Andriy Yurash Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Vatican.
