(OSV News): Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organisations, arrived in Moscow on August 24 for a four-day visit, with meetings scheduled with the Russian government, Orthodox and Catholic leaders.
The visit, announced by the Vatican Secretariat of State on X [formerly Twitter], comes as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine and as European leaders flocked to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to show their solidarity on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24.
Archbishop Gallagher is scheduled to return to Rome on August 28. The trip follows a series of diplomatic meetings by Vatican officials, including Archbishop Gallagher, only weeks earlier in Ukraine.
A five-day visit from July 17-21 as Pope Leo XIV’s envoy to celebrations commemorating the 35th anniversary of the renewal of structures of the Latin-rite Church in Ukraine was capped by Archbishop Gallagher meeting Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
While in Moscow, Archbishop Gallagher is not scheduled to meet Russian president, Vladimir Putin, however, he is set to meet Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairperson of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Moscow Patriarchate, on August 25. The following day, he will meet Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin.
“The schedule confirms the Holy See’s determination to continue along the path of dialogue, even at one of the most difficult moments in international relations at the global level,” Vatican News reported.
On August 27, the archbishop will meet clergy and religious and celebrate Mass at Moscow’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also is scheduled to meet the country’s Catholic bishops.
Archbishop Gallagher’s visit also will include meetings with Russia’s small and geographically dispersed Catholic community. The Catholic Church in Russia includes the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow and the dioceses of St. Clement in Saratov, the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk and St. Joseph in Irkutsk, as listed by Vatican News.
Archbishop Gallagher’s mission to Moscow is not his first one. During a November 2021 trip, he met prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, Lavrov and Metropolitan Hilarion, then head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, Vatican News said.
Meanwhile, UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, and a dozen other European leaders headed to Kyiv to show their support for Ukraine.
“For Ukraine, independence is not an abstract idea. We defended it against all odds,” Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on social media, The Associated Press reported. “In times like these, nations learn how important it is to have allies by your side.”
Burnham, on his first trip to Ukraine as prime minister, promised to keep up the pressure on Russia despite Moscow’s “outrageous threats”, the BBC reported on August 25
Burnham met with Zelensky and chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, set up by the UK and France under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.
“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said, praising the “strength” of the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security but the front line in keeping Europe safe,” the UK prime minister said.
In related news, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, told Vatican News, “Today in Ukraine, we see that the national unity that led us toward national independence can be defended only through mercy: the capacity to empathise with those who suffer, the capacity to show mercy toward those who make mistakes, but also our capacity to do good to our neighbour. Therefore, we must not forget that the greatest experience of freedom comes when we love God and our neighbour.”
The archbishop said that “the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches has issued an appeal to the World Council of Churches, and has also written a letter to Pope Leo and to all men and women of good will, asking them to observe August 24 as a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine.”
