The Secretary of State for Relations with States was in Montreal for the conference on the formula for peace in Ukraine. Returning to the mission entrusted to the Holy See to liberate Ukrainian children, civilians and soldiers, Bishop Gallagher regretted that “the results did not live up to expectations”. The archbishop urged to avoid any exploitation of humanitarian issues and to seek the good of the victims.
Salvatore Cernuzio – Vatican City
«Unfortunately, the results did not live up to expectations“, perhaps because the cases entrusted to him “are more complicated“. However, the Holy See perseveres in its humanitarian efforts to free Ukrainian minors, soldiers and civilians detained by Russia. This was stated by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations, during the international conference on the human dimension of Ukraine’s peace formula, which is held in Montreal, Canada on October 30 and 31.
This was the second summit on the peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after the one held in Switzerland last June. The two-day Canadian event had on its agenda “proposal number 4” of the ten points that make up the formula: the “release of all prisoners and deportees“. This is the mission that the Holy See has undertaken since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “acceptingrecalled Mgr Gallagher, the repeated requests from the Ukrainian authorities».
President Zelensky’s request and Cardinal Zuppi’s mission
It was President Zelensky himself who first appealed to the diplomatic network of the Holy See on the issue of the release of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian minors taken by force to Russia and on the exchange of prisoners. The mechanism put in place led to concrete results such as the release of the two Ukrainian Redemptorist priests on June 29 and the return of a group of minors. The Ukrainian president reiterated his request for help from the Pope during his audience – the third at the Vatican – on October 11.
This type of humanitarian assistance was “the main objective of Cardinal Zuppi’s mission to kyiv and Moscow“, further declared Bishop Gallagher, referring to the trip of the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference to Ukraine and Russia during the summer of 2023 as the Pope’s envoy to find the means for a “just peace» for the country «martyred“. Cardinal Zuppi then returned to Moscow on October 14 and 15. This mission, underlined the diplomat in Montreal, “led to the creation of a framework for the repatriation of children and the regular exchange of information between the two parties“. It also gave rise to online meetings with the participation of the apostolic nuncios in the two countries, Mgr Visvaldas Kulbokas in Ukraine and Mgr Giovanni d’Aniello in Russia.
The help of the two apostolic nuncios
Even if the results are not satisfactory, the archbishop said, “direct contact between the parties, in particular with the presence of the two apostolic nuncios, is useful to facilitate dialogue“. Bishop Kulbokas, in particular, identified Catholic institutions ready to welcome families with repatriated minors. And this, while “the Holy See reiterates its requests for new lists of children“. Moreover, “the Holy See also transmitted thousands of names of prisoners, requesting their exchange and release. He also supported the proposal to establish joint medical commissions for prisoners suffering from serious illnesses and supported the request of the families of Ukrainian prisoners to provide them with humanitarian aid. Finally, he demanded from the Russian side the transfer of deceased Ukrainian soldiers».
No to instrumentalization
The nuncio in kyiv, added Bishop Gallagher, “visited some of the Russian prisoners in Ukraine, noting their good conditions“. A similar assurance regarding the conditions of Ukrainian prisoners was given by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, “but without the possibility for the Holy See to verify their situation».
In conclusion, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations called “the parties to refrain from any exploitation of humanitarian issues» and reiterated “the need for a commitment to finding solutions to urgent humanitarian needs, also as a goodwill path towards peace».
