Pope Francis considering visit to Kyiv amid Russia-Ukraine war, says 'it's on the table'

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has said that he may travel to the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv. Earlier, on March 8, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, invited the head of the Catholic church, as well as Ukrainian religious leaders. The Vatican had verified receipt of a letter at the time of the invitation and stated the pope was praying for Ukrainians, but no travel arrangements were mentioned. However, when asked if he was considering the invitation on Saturday during his visit to Malta, Francis said, "Yes," as per the reports of the Guardian.

The Pope also stated that from the east of Europe, the dark shadows of war have now spread. He further said that they used to believe that foreign invasions, street fighting and nuclear threats were all things of the past. The Pope continued by stating that the winds of war, which bring nothing but death, destruction and hatred have swept down strongly on the lives of many people and affected everyone.

The Vatican established new ties with the Putin-aligned Russian Orthodox Church

The senior archbishop of Ukraine's Byzantine Rite Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and Ukraine's envoy to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, have both endorsed Ukraine's invitation of Pope Francis, who has already condemned Vladimir Putin's war, calling it "unjustified aggression" and "atrocities". However, in order to continue discussion in a bid to stop Russia-Ukraine war, the Vatican has refrained from calling Russia an aggressor and has recently established new ties with the Putin-aligned Russian Orthodox Church, according to Euro News.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican's secretary of state, stated that Francis' trip to Malta will focus on the migration crisis exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine. He hailed Europe's welcome of Ukrainian migrants, according to Vatican Media. He further said that he hopes that the painful experience in Ukraine can generate sensitivity towards the other exodus. IT is to mention that Pope Francis has been suffering from knee inflammation for months. He has been struggling to get out of his chair and climb stairs in recent days.

Image: AP