DW asked the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, Vitalii Kryvytskyi, for his thoughts on potential Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in the Vatican.
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00:00Bishop Vitaly, thank you for speaking to DW.
00:03What is the Catholic Church of Ukraine's position or thoughts on Pope Leo's suggestion or offer to host mediation talks between Ukraine and Russia?
00:16Our faithful are expecting some influence from the head of our church, from Pope Leo, so that this mediation, his mediation, will be effective.
00:30For example, we recall Pope Leo the Great, who twice had the opportunity to save Rome from complete destruction.
00:41We believe that today there is also such an opportunity, and the Spirit of God will push this Pope to this very mission, and he will be able to become such a mediator between the two countries.
00:55And do you think the church has perhaps a unique role here or a unique position in that it may be able to somehow depoliticize the talks and focus on the human elements?
01:09The Pope's mediation is precisely about shifting the entire emphasis to humanity.
01:19That is, the Pope should deal, in fact, with people, not with institutions.
01:26By that I mean he should protect people, not institutions.
01:30We sometimes say that the Pope can interfere somewhere in politics.
01:36There is a saying that every pastor should not be apolitical, but he has no right to belong to any party.
01:44So it is precisely this neutrality of the Vatican that can help.
01:48And we hope that the advocacy of moral values through the Vatican will help us come to an understanding that will stop this bloody war.
02:04And how much influence do you think Pope Leo can have on these talks?
02:08Of course, today we accept with faith the new pontiff, the new leader of our church, and are full of hope that he will be a good mediator in these negotiations.
02:21We recall other steps taken by the Vatican previously.
02:27We remember the conflicts between Argentina and Chile, between the USA and Cuba,
02:34and many other moments where the Pope became such a mediator and led to certain solutions to these conflicts.
02:40We understand that in our bloody war, we have a very cruel aggressor, and convincing him alone, of course, will not work.
02:56But despite everything, we believe in God, who also guides the Pope, and he always has more ways than people.
03:03And could you see any issues with neutrality, perhaps the church being viewed or perceived as favoring one side over the other?
03:18Politicians do not always understand the diplomacy of the Vatican correctly.
03:24The Vatican is actually an independent state and pursues an independent policy.
03:30Its policy is based on this very neutrality, and the strength of this policy is standing on the side of truth.
03:40Of course, historically, this looked different.
03:43But today, the Holy See is faced with such a challenge.
03:47To recall the issue of justice, the issue of morality, the issue of international agreements, international rules,
03:55in order to bring two enemies to the same negotiating table.
04:00And the Vatican is actually open today to being such a mediator, such an intermediary.
04:16Bishop Vitalik, thank you very much for your time.
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