On Thursday, July 10, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, attended a meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Rome. During his visit, he expressed the Italian Church's ongoing solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who have been enduring the tragedy of war for an extended period.
Cardinal Zuppi paid particular attention to humanitarian efforts aimed at freeing Ukrainian children who were illegally taken to Russia. He reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently submitted another list of children whose fates need clarification. This was reported by the UGCC Department for Information.
“The work continues, involving President Zelensky, who recently submitted another list of children whose cases need verification from the Russian authorities. The participation of both nuncios — the nuncio in Kyiv and the nuncio in Moscow — along with the authorities from both sides, is ongoing,” said Cardinal Zuppi.
He also acknowledged that the process of returning children, reuniting families, and exchanging prisoners is progressing too slowly due to significant difficulties in communication between the parties and in the internal verification of information.
Cardinal Zuppi expressed hope that these efforts will persist, as the conditions of detention remain extremely challenging.
“Thus, this commitment continues, and we hope to advance it further because the circumstances of captivity are always very difficult. Therefore, we aim to provide even more assistance,” he stated.
Additionally, Cardinal Zuppi emphasized that the closeness, love, and solidarity of the Italian Church are not only his personal ministry as the Pope's special representative, but a joint effort of the entire Italian Church. He highlighted a coincidental but meaningful occurrence: alongside the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine is being held in Rome today.
“Together with the Synod and this conference, we are here to explore ways to help and to combat the despair and tragedy of war with Christian hope,” emphasized Cardinal Zuppi.