VATICAN (CNS): After a half-hour private meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis gave the prime minister of Ukraine, Denys, a bronze plaque featuring a bird and a flower alongside the inscription, “Peace is a fragile flower.”
In return, Shmyhal gave the pope a book of photographs documenting the damage inflicted by Russian bombings of his country in a war that has lasted 14 months already.
After speaking with the pope, Shmyhal also met April 27 with Pietro Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister.
“During the cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State, various matters connected to the war in Ukraine were highlighted, with particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and efforts to restore peace,” the Vatican press office said in a communiqué.
In addition, the statement said, “several issues regarding the life and activity of the Church in the country were raised.”
After his meeting with the pope, Shmyhal told reporters at the Foreign Press Association that he had asked for the Vatican’s assistance in returning to Ukraine children taken by force to Russia.
The Ukrainian government’s “Children of War” website claimed, as of April 27, that 19,393 children had been forcibly removed from Ukraine and taken to Russia.
