“Pope Francis was essentially a Pope of peace. Indeed, one of the strong points of his pontificate was to build bridges, Look for dialogue with people or groups of people who seem more far from the Church. Ukraine has been in her heart, until the last moment ». Monsignor Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio in Kyiv, He returned to the capital from Zaporizhzia, in the east of the town, close to the areas of the front, where he concelebrated the Easter triduum with the Latin rite church and with the Greek-Catholic one: on Holy Thursday, the Holy Friday and the Easter vigil in the Roman-Catholic Concatrale of God Mercordioso Father with the auxiliary bishop Monsignor Jan Sobilo, the Easter Sunday with the Bishop with the Bishop with the Bishop Greek-Catholic Monsignor Maksym Ryabukha in the Greek-Catholic Church of San Vladimir Prince.
“The pontiff hoped to do something to reach peace,” explains Nunzio. «And when he spoke of the need for dialogue, he took this light thus, his words seemed naive. But this basic idea that the Pope launched was an invitation to all politicians. Of course, the Holy Father had only authority, he could not force anyone, neither the United States, nor China, nor India or other countries. Realistically speaking, it was not possible to demand that the countries in conflict would sit down to the negotiation table. Russia would not even have started the war if it had been available in such a simple way to dialogue. And to get to peace it takes a very well prepared dialogue ».
Francesco’s appeal – Kulbokas reflects – sounded like some naive. Instead “he simply should have been welcomed, first of all by the church men, and then by politicians. What certainly not easy. We can say that the Pope was a bit like John the Baptist: he spoke, but few gathered his message. However, this does not mean that the Holy Father should have abandoned his mission: a time will come when hearts will be open ». Pope Francis was a man of faith, a shepherd, always very close to Ukraine, essentially in two worlds: “With the insistence on the need that the politicians of the world are serious towards this war and, according to aspect, with the intensity of prayer. Personally, I am very Gratyo to Pope Francis for what he did ».
In these three years of war, several times the words of the pontiff have been badly interpreted, misunderstood, giving rise to crfitics even harsh. In this regard, nuncio observes: «Talking about war is very difficult. When launching an appeal to one of the countries in conflict, the other country can misunderstand, not understand that appeal. The same words are perceived and interpreted differently, For example, from those who are in Washington, from those in Moscow, from those who are at the front. It is impossible to be able to find a words, an expression that at a given moment is suitable for everyone to be equal. Furthermore, Pope Francis has always been very spontaneous in his way to express himself: he had his basic ideas clearly clear and expressed them openly, sometimes without choosing the sentences and shades. And he often said it to his collaborators, as the secretary of State Parolin: “Now it is your job to explain my words”. He did not pretend to develop and articulate his sentences precisely, launched his ideas. And it is a great challenge for all of us to accompany a pope like him. For example, in the Easter celebrations in Zaporizhzia, I realized that I could not turn the same type of words to the simple faithful and the military who had left the trenches to participate in the Easter Mass and who were tired, worried about their companions left at the front. It cannot therefore be demanded that a Pope may always be and everywhere understood in the same way, because it is impossible to speak universally ». And he concludes by adding: “In Ukraine I met many people, associations of the family members of prisoners, soldiers who thanked me from all for everything that the Pope has done for their country”.
(Photo Ansa: Monsignor Visvaldas Kulbokas with Pope Francis in 2021)
