Stanislav Stremydlovsky. Pope and German Chancellor think about the future of Ukraine
The information communiqué of the Vatican press center states that it was primarily about eradicating poverty throughout the world. Merkel herself said: “I had the joy and the opportunity to tell Francis about the plans for the German presidency of the G7 - this was the main purpose of my visit and I, of course, am pleased that these plans and themes are of great importance for the pope and the Church” . However, Radio Vaticana focuses on the other - there was a discussion of "European problems, including the achievement of a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine." Apparently, this was indeed the main purpose of Merkel's visit to Rome. In addition to meetings with her father and the Vatican dignitaries, she visited the Catholic Community of St. Egidius, where she was received by the president of this organization, Marco Impagliazzo. “People thirst for the most of the world. For us Europeans, the world is the cornerstone of our agreement. We have suffered too much from the war and suffered so much, ”said Impagliazzo. In a response speech, the Chancellor, referring to the Ukrainian crisis, called for a “quick diplomatic solution.” In an interview with Radio Vaticana, answering a question about a conversation with Francis, she noted: “Of course, we also talked about a military conflict in Ukraine. These days Ukrainian bishops were in the Vatican. So I think that Pope was fully informed about the situation. ”
The Vatican is now becoming a platform where the Ukrainian crisis is being actively and carefully discussed, a diagnosis of the situation is given, ways to resolve the conflict are sought both in tactical and strategic dimensions. This draws attention to the Holy See "political lobbyists" from all countries. This week, taking advantage of the fact that the Ukrainian episcopate of the Latin and Greek Catholic rites was present in the Vatican during the visit of Ad limina Apostolorum (“To the Apostolic Thresholds”), the Ukrainian Embassy at the Holy See organized an information briefing. According to the press service of the diplomatic mission, ambassadors of the European Union, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and Georgia, as well as members of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church took part in it. The head of the Ukrainian mission, Tatyana Izhevskaya, noted "the need to combat propaganda, which distorts the facts and events in this conflict" and "urged other states not to remain indifferent to events in Ukraine, to continue to influence the aggressor in order to achieve a cease-fire and peace." Her colleague, the American ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett, in his speech, assured that the United States "supports Ukraine in the struggle for peace and a European future."
However, the alignment of forces in the world Catholic community itself is not so straightforward. Of course, Ukrainian Uniates have their supporters abroad, who, like them, tend to blame the “external factor” in everything that happens in Ukraine, that is, Russia. But they are in the minority, because, both in the Vatican itself and on the periphery, more and more they begin to understand the complexity of the geopolitical situation around Ukraine and the internal contradictions from which this polynomial country is constructed. Back in July last year, the magazine of Italian Jesuits La Civilta Cattolica predicted that President Poroshenko “would have to look for the political formula for the stability of his state,” which could be the “original type of federalism”. And at the beginning of this year, as the American edition of the National Catholic Register wrote, the secretary general of the Council of Conferences of the Catholic Episcopate of Europe, Monsignor Duarte da Cunha, wondered who was behind the escalation of the conflict and wants to divide the territory of Ukraine? Speaking about the format of a political settlement, he stressed that “the Church behaves very reasonably. We understand the importance of Russia for Europe. ” In turn, Robert Moynihan, editor-in-chief of Inside the Vatican magazine, noted: “There is something strange in this whole situation. It is as if people had complete amnesia. Two years ago, Russia was preparing to host the Olympic Games. Now: the war is escalating, the ruble has fallen, Putin is depicted as a new Hitler. ” According to him, in this situation, “Francis and the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who is being listened to by the Russian President,” could meet and, being leaders of religious, rather than political, joint efforts, would help the world to turn off the road “leading to Armageddon.”
The Holy See supports the peace plan drawn up in Minsk by the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France and works with the forces interested in its implementation. True, the Vatican itself lacks “undercurrents”. Although the current pontiff seems to favor the German chancellor, it is known that retirement pope Benedict XVI does not like her. The German newspaper Die Welt recalls that when he visited Germany in 2011, he refused to come to Merkel’s office. Her relations with the opposition at the beginning of 2000 and with Pope John-Paul II were just as difficult. While the “Polish Pope” opposed the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, persuaded her to choose between the Vatican and Washington, the leader of the German Christian Democratic Union staked on US President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, today the Ukrainian Catholics of the Latin rite are led by the Archbishop of Lviv, Mieczyslaw Mokšycki, who previously served as secretary of Benedict XVI for several years. According to the Polish news agency Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna, he met with his former patron and now, during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation, with a reporting visit to the Vatican. “Dad retired reassured us of his solidarity with the suffering of the people of Ukraine and asked me to convey his blessing to all believers,” said the Monsignor. “I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised to see the Holy Father in such good shape.”
Thus, it is possible that Chancellor Merkel will not be so easy to defend his position before the Holy See. As for Russia, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera believes that "Francis gives Moscow a hand". The publication notes that in the Vatican they want rumors about the replacement of the apostolic nuncio in Kiev by Archbishop Thomas Gallixon, who is considered "too anti-Russian." If this happens, such a decision will fit perfectly into the strategy of the Vatican to prevent a new “cold war.” But this will depend not only on Russia and the Holy See, but also on the West. A step towards Berlin must do. An influential American journalist, the wife of the ex-foreign minister of Poland and now Marshal of the Sejm of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, Ann Applebaum, writes in an article in the Washington Post that “you shouldn’t trust Germany with the solution of crises in Europe”. In her opinion, "Merkel put her personal signature on the cease-fire agreement, the conditions of which she cannot guarantee, and she does not have a plan B in case it is violated." This is the first. Secondly, the Russians do not listen to the Germans. However, Pope Francis can speak equally well with Merkel and Putin. If we succeed in creating a new format, Berlin - Vatican - Moscow, then it is possible that this “triangle” will be able to offer non-standard solutions for the settlement in Ukraine.
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