Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, a representative of the Vatican, assured his support for Ukraine and emphasized that war is a step backwards that destroys everything and causes suffering to children.
He made these remarks during a meeting in Kyiv with Dmytro Lubynets, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, according to Ukrinform.
"It is unacceptable that the violence of this war has affected children. Pope Francis, speaking about Ukraine, used a very beautiful expression: 'Your tears are my tears, your pain is my pain.' And today, I say that your children are our children. I can say this because many children have come to Italy... It was very pleasant to see the hospitality with which Italians welcomed Ukrainian children," he said.
The cardinal shared that Italian and Ukrainian children quickly found a common language and became friends in schools.
"Of course, the Church will do everything possible to protect the lives of children," Cardinal Zuppi assured.
On his part, Dmytro Lubynets informed him that our country has managed to return 371 children who were illegally taken out of their homeland by the Russian Federation during the war. "The return of each child is like a small special operation. When you know that the Russian Federation will never support or help you, we must do everything to bring Ukrainian children back. So far, we have managed to return 371 children. Perhaps with your participation, we will be able to significantly change this number," Lubynets said. He emphasized that Ukraine is grateful to all those who are willing to help in this matter.
The parties also discussed the issue of exchanges of prisoners of war and the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Pope's special envoy for peace in Ukraine, is visiting Kyiv from June 5th to 6th. As stated by the Vatican, the main purpose of the visit is to carefully listen to the Ukrainian authorities regarding possible ways to achieve a just peace and to support humanitarian gestures that can help alleviate tensions.