Ukraine, negotiated, peaceful solution

“The word peace encompasses the desire of humanity, which the Church embraces and makes her own”. With these words Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, first collaborator of Pope Francis, explained the diplomatic action of the Holy See. For the Church this action is engaged on various fronts, to recover relations, promote pacification of conflicts and strengthen reconciliation. “The diplomatic action of the Holy See – he said – is not limited to observing the events and evaluating their bearing, nor can it remain just a critical voice. In fact, the Holy See is called to take action in order to further the coexistence and cohabitation of different nations, to promote brotherhood among peoples, where the term ‘brotherhood’ means concrete cooperation, in agreement and in order: a structured solidarity to the benefit of the common good and of the good of individuals”. Ahead of his departure for Belarus (March 12-15) the Cardinal focused his reflection on international scenarios. Minsk is acting as a bridge for the Ukrainian conflict, which diplomatic initiatives is the Holy See envisaging? “We are not considering any specific initiative to this regard. Rather, we are following the situation up close. There has been a direct contact with Ukrainian bishops who came for their “ad limina” visit, and with them we also discussed the situation. I believe that the visit in Belarus bears specific relevance in the present moment, with special focus on the Ukrainian situation, precisely because of the role that Minsk’s government intends to exert in Ukraine, namely, to seek a negotiated and peaceful solution to the crisis. We have already followed this approach several times in the interventions of the Holy See and I think that my presence could in a certain way support these efforts carried out by the local government”. Given the extremely entangled situation, how could peace be achieved? “Is peace possible? Peace is possible if there is the will to create peace. All the mechanisms are in place, although they could be improved and perfected, but a regulatory framework and a wide range of tools that could lead to a solution are already available. Also in the Ukrainian crisis there have been interventions of different nature. It is necessary to want peace, and believe that peace is a supreme value. As the Popes have said, ‘with peace nothing is lost, with war everything is lost'”. In your speech at the UN you complained about a contradictory approach and a certain degree of indifference on the part of the international community vis a vis various conflict areas such as Syria, Iraq, Ukraine. Do you believe that this is still the case? “Unfortunately people tend to get used to these situations. But I do believe that a certain degree of indifference lingers on. For example, also the conflict in Syria, whose devastating effects continue, no longer attracts the attention it had at the outbreak of the conflict. This is the most serious danger: to forget, and that these situations of conflict may exacerbate and continue to cause suffering. It is necessary to always be vigil and propose initiatives that may be of help, although some of them end up failing to meet the targets for which they had been organized and conceived”. There is the problem of the UN’s reform. Is it possible to imagine progress in this direction so that the international community may return to be operative? “Up to know, it all boiled down to acknowledging that the global scenario has changed, that past players, so as to say, are no longer the same, that others have taken their place. Solutions are yet to be found, and in any case they have not been agreed upon nor adopted. We continue highlighting this aspect on every possible occasion. But until now nothing has changed. We hope there will be progress, since it is believed that the UN may be a valid tool to handle these issues. This has always been our view, but it should be a renewed UN in line with the new realities we are facing”.