Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, has returned to Moscow as part of the Vatican’s peace mission to promote family reunification of Ukrainian children and the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. This visit follows his previous trip to Moscow in June 2023, where he met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and government officials, including President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
During his earlier trip, Cardinal Zuppi also met with Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin’s commissioner for children’s rights, to discuss the issue of over 19,000 Ukrainian minors forcibly taken to Russia. Thanks to his efforts, some of these children have been able to return home.
Pope Francis has asked Cardinal Zuppi to serve as a papal envoy to initiate paths of peace between Russia and Ukraine since May 2023. The cardinal’s visit comes after Pope Francis met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on 11 October.
In his recent Angelus address, Pope Francis appealed for an end to the war, saying, “I appeal not to let the Ukrainians die of cold; to stop the air strikes against the civilian population, which is always the most affected. Stop the killing of innocent people!”. The Vatican has clarified that its mission is not aimed at mediation but promoting peace and safeguarding human rights.