Ambassador of Ukraine to the Vatican Andriy Yurash assured that he is doing everything to prevent Pope Francis from meeting Moscow Patriarch Cyril (Gundyaev).
“The Head of the Holy See talks about a possible meeting with Cyril in September in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the General Assembly. But we, diplomats, are doing everything possible to prevent the meeting from taking place: it will neither benefit the ecumenical dialogue nor add authority to the Apostolic Capital because it would be a meeting with the devil’s advocate,” Yurash said, according to RFE/RL.
He noted that the Pope represents the sphere of spirituality, peace, love, and the desire to find understanding between all, and it is about meeting someone who justifies murder and lies every time.
“The Pope has no chance of convincing the law corporation of hell, which the Russian Orthodox Church is today. We demonstrate every time what damage it would cause to the image of the Holy See in the context of how to respond to the problem of love and peace against the background of the war in Ukraine. Obviously, there is a side that suffers unjustly,” Yuras emphasized.
The Ambassador of Ukraine noted that all strength and love should be directed toward Ukraine.
If the meeting does take place, its format is not planned to be bilateral, as was thought and planned for June 14 in Jerusalem. “This will take place within the framework of participation in the third multilateral event, where there will be many participating parties,” the ambassador explained.
It should be recalled that the Pope hopes to renew the agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. Also, Cardinal Gallagher does not rule out that the Pope may visit Kyiv in August.
