(by Manuela Tulli) (ANSA) The delicate relationship between Ukraine and the Holy See is experiencing its most difficult hours.
Kiev did not 'digest' the words pronounced by
Pope Francis
on June 24, at the general audience, when he asked "everyone" to do their part for peace, and called
Darya Dugina
"a poor innocent girl".
After yesterday's harsh protest, with the Foreign Ministry which summoned the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr.
Visvaldas Kulbokas
, today the Ukrainian embassy to the Holy See corrects the shot.
The
diplomat sent from Kiev, Andrii Yurash,
publishes on social media the photos of the visit of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin a year ago, when there was still no war in Kiev: "It was the second visit of the Vatican Secretary of State since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2014 which has shown for both sides how important - the ambassador notes - relations between Ukraine and the Holy See are ".
The climate remains not easy and the Pope's visit to Ukraine, for which there was no date but the will explicitly expressed by the Pontiff, now seems to be moving away.
Likewise, the meeting with
the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill
has already been postponed and he will not go to Kazakhstan in mid-September, for what was supposed to be the first occasion of a face to face with Francis since the beginning of the Russian invasion of February 24.
Vatican diplomacy continues to work behind the scenes and chooses, for the moment, not to officially comment on the events of the last few hours.
However, the voice of
the editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli
, arrives from the Vatican, who underlines: "During these months the Pope has never been 'equidistant': he condemned in clear words the aggression perpetrated by Russia. 'equivicino', that is, close to all those who suffer from the consequences of the war, in the first place the innocent population of Ukraine who dies under the Russian bombs ".
In the Vatican corridors one can perceive the sorrow and disappointment above all for the words released yesterday evening by the Kiev Foreign Ministry accusing Francis of having "never paid particular attention to the specific victims of the war, including 376 Ukrainian children who died at the hands of the occupiers Russians ".
A phrase that comes after the meeting in the Paul VI Hall with dozens of Ukrainian children, welcomed by Caritas, joyful for the Pope's embrace. also welcome the Infant Jesus in his hospital and visit in person a few days after the outbreak of the war.
.