Pope Francis hopes to visit Russia and Ukraine later this month, he said in an interview with Reuters. According to him, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has already spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about a possible visit to Moscow.
Reuters points out that “no pope has ever visited Moscow” and that Pope Francis’ position on the Ukraine conflict complicates the situation. “When the Vatican first asked about a trip a few months ago, Pope Francis said Moscow replied it was not the right time,” the news outlet explained. However, the pontiff “implied that things may have changed now.”
“I would like to go (to Ukraine), and I wanted to go to Moscow first,” he said. “We exchanged messages about this because I thought if the Russian President would give me a small window of opportunity to serve the cause of peace… And now it’s possible that I can go to Ukraine after my return from Canada.” Francis added: “First I would like to travel to Russia to try to help in any way, but I would like to travel to both capitals.”
