Ukrainian envoy to the Holy See: Pope Francis will never forsake Ukraine and seeks final resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine

The traditional New Year's meeting of the Pope with the heads of diplomatic missions of foreign states and international organizations accredited to the Holy See was held on January 11.

The Pope delivered a speech dedicated to the results of diplomatic activities of the Vatican, the main international events of the past year and the challenges facing the international community on the eve of 2016.

In his speech, the Pontiff separately commented on the situation in Ukraine.

The Holy Father said: “May this Holy Year of Charity will be an especially favorable time to finally put an end to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Extremely important is the diverse support that the international community, individual countries and humanitarian organizations can offer to the country in order to overcome the current crisis.”

After the speech, the Pope held a short meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine. Pope Francis welcomed the Ukrainian Ambassador with the Christian slogan “Christ is Born!” After the traditional reply “Glorify Him!”, the Ambassador conveyed the New Year and Christmas greetings to the pontiff from the government and people of Ukraine.

Tetiana Izhevska thanked the Holy Father for constant attention to our country, prayers and blessings for Ukraine and expressed hope that the Ukrainians would soon have an opportunity to greet the pontiff on their land. Pope Francis, for his part, assured the Ambassador that he will “never forsake Ukraine.”

Pope Francis spoke to the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See as part of his traditional exchange of New Year’s greetings with the diplomats, Catholic News Agency informs. There are currently 180 ambassadors of other countries to the Holy See, 86 of whom reside in Rome.An annual occurrence, the Pope’s speech to diplomats is one of the most important that he gives at the beginning of the year just begun, and sets the Holy See’s diplomatic tone for the rest of the year. He encouraged the diplomats to make efforts in building peace, but said that doing so would mean “rethinking entrenched habits and practices,” beginning with the arms trade, financing and sustainable development policies, the provision of raw materials and energy, investment, as well as “the grave scourge of corruption.”