Cardinal Zuppi’s Moscow visit explored peace and humanitarian coordination

By Vatican News

The Holy See Press Office announced on Thursday that Pope Francis’ special envoy to seek peace in Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, has returned to Italy after a visit to Russia on October 14-16.

The Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference was accompanied on his second visit to Moscow by an official from the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

According to a statement, the visit “provided an opportunity to examine some prospects for continuing humanitarian collaboration and opening paths toward the much-desired peace.”

Cardinal Zuppi met with several government officials, including Sergey Lavrov; Russia’s Foreign Minister; Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy advisor; Marija Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights; and, Tatiana Moskalkova, Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The discussions allowed for an assessment of the progress made so far in family reunification for minors and the exchange of prisoners, the wounded, and the remains of the fallen,” read the statement from the Holy See Press Office.

Cardinal Zuppi also met with Metropolitan Antonij of Volokolamsk, President of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, with whom he spoke about humanitarian issues.