Pope says Vatican involved in Ukraine peace mission
Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Vatican was involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, declining to give further details.
“I am willing to do everything that has to be done. There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it,” Pope Francis told reporters during a flight home after a three-day visit to Hungary.
“I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure. … This is not easy.”
The pope added that he had spoken about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan (bishop) Hilarion, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest.
“In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace,” he said.