VATICAN (CNS): “It is a Third World War ‘fought piecemeal’ that you are witnessing in the places where you carry out your mission,” Pope Francis told the papal nuncios who serve around the globe, during a private meeting in the Apostolic Palace on September 8.
The group included 91 apostolic nuncios and six permanent observers; five papal representatives were unable to attend, according to Vatican News. The group was at the Vatican from September 7 to 10 as part of an organised gathering of all papal representatives, scheduled every three years.
The pope called it “a particularly serious war, due to the violation of international law, the risks of nuclear escalation and the drastic economic and social consequences,” he said, adding, “Unfortunately, Europe and the whole world are shaken by a particularly serious war.”
Pope Francis thanked the nuncios for everything they have been doing in “these situations of suffering” everywhere they work. “You have brought the closeness of the pope to the people and the Church. You have been points of reference during moments of extreme loss and turbulence.”
The pope also expressed his gratitude that, after all the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, “now it seems the worst may be behind us, and thank God we were able to meet.”
The pope asked everyone to remember the retired papal representatives who have died over the past three years, and in particular, the two nuncios who died while still actively serving their mission: Syro-Malabar Archbishop Joseph Chennoth, 76, papal nuncio to Japan, who died of a heart attack 8 September 2020; and Italian Archbishop Aldo Giordano, 67, papal nuncio to the European Union, who died 2 December 2021, after contracting Covid-19 during the pope’s visit to Slovakia two months prior.
