Ukraine: Cardinal Parolin says Holy See ready to help end war

By Robin Gomes

The Holy See has expressed its readiness to help in every effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, a position Pope Francis made clear in his appeal at the Sunday Angelus address.

"What needs to be done now, first of all, is to stop the weapons and the fighting, but above all an escalation. And the first escalation is verbal,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on Monday.

“When one begins to use certain words and expressions, they do nothing but inflame tempers and naturally and insensitively lead to the use of other means, which are the deadly weapons we see in action at the moment in Ukraine,” he said in an interview with the Italian Bishops’ television channel, TV2000. 

Multi-pronged diplomacy

Cardinal Parolin explained that Holy See's intervention is on several levels.

“The religious level is that of inviting an insistent prayer that God may grant peace to that tormented land and involve believers in this choral prayer. Then there is the humanitarian aspect, above all through Caritas and the dioceses that are very committed to receiving refugees from Ukraine. And then there is the availability of initiatives on the diplomatic level.”

Cardinal Parolin explained that as Pope Francis has said, the Holy See is willing "to help in every way to stop the weapons and the violence and to negotiate a solution."

He concluded by saying that various attempts toward achieving peace in Ukraine are being made around the world.