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“The Pope is the Only Leader Close to Those Who Suffer in Ukraine”
In an interview, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, 48, Apostolic Nuncio to Kiev, speaks of a possible papal journey to the suffering country, and the superficial view of the Ukraine conflict around the globe. But, he notes, there are also those willing to launch a dialogue with Russia...
By Giacomo Gambassi (Avvenire)
February 27, 2022, St. Peter’s Square. A group of Ukrainians who live in Italy with their families came to St. Peter’s Square to show their solidarity with their motherland Ukraine, as the war began on February 24, 2022. They await some words of comfort from the Pope
There is a Bible that the apostolic nuncio to Kiev keeps with particular care. He keeps it with him at the diplomatic seat of the Holy See which is housed in a yellow building in the heart of the Ukrainian capital. It is a burned Bible, found amidst children’s games in a building in Borodyanka, the town north of Kiev bombed in early March and occupied for a month by the Moscow army. It is not far from Bucha, where hundreds of bodies were found buried in mass graves.
“Every time I look at it,” explains Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, “I feel like crying, both for the suffering of the people and for the absurd fact that the whole of humanity is not united in condemning war. I am referring to Ukraine because we are here in Kiev. But it is valid for all conflicts around the world.”
A pause, then: “But another thing amazes me: it is the lightness, the superficiality with which the theme of war is approached in various nations. ‘Will Ukraine or Russia win?’ seems to be the only question. As if war were a game. We stop at the theoretical level, as if behind all this there are no victims, no wounded, no people on the run or traumatized… and the heart does not know what it means to pity.”
A 48-year-old native of Lithuania, Archbishop Kulbokas has been in Kiev for 10 months. And he is the only ambassador who has never left the capital since the Kremlin attack began. A statue of John Paul II welcomes those arriving at the nunciature. And the hypothesis that Pope Francis will visit Ukraine immediately comes to mind: “As Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, said, the Pontiff is determined to come to Kiev: this is not an abstract project. Of course, the first important factor is that of his physical condition, which will be ‘tested’ in the upcoming trip to Canada.” We talk about August for the possible trip to Ukraine: “It is a period being taken into consideration, but there has been no date set,” says Kulbokas.
Excellency, in addition to Kiev, could Francis go to Moscow?
ARCHBISHOP KULBOKAS: It is the Pope himself who repeated that he wanted to contribute personally to stopping the war. If a stop in Moscow were useful in this sense, the pontiff offered his full availability. As for the visit here, I would say it is a sign of closeness to the suffering people. And this is the best key to understanding the Pope’s desire to be among us.
Is Ukraine waiting for Francis?
Everyone is waiting for him. Not just the people. Not just Catholics. The authorities too: from President Zelensky to the Foreign Minister. Even the mayor of Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko, officially invited him with a letter, as early as March.
How can security measures be ensured?
That is a complex matter. Just arriving in Ukraine by land alone is a difficulty. Then it is necessary to evaluate the modalities of the visit. An example: the government has just tightened the rules for compliance with missile warnings that are repeated almost daily. So public life is always subject to possible restrictions: you never know if at any given time or place you will be able to go, due to a possible alarm. It is true that in recent months there have been visits from some political leaders, but the Pope is not a politician.
Maybe it will be a private visit...
It is always possible to imagine that the Holy Father will visit Ukraine by surprise, if we may say so, and that the news will be released the next day. But I don’t think that is the Pope’s intention.
Not a day goes by that Francis does not refer to the war in Ukraine, calling it a “massacre.”
These are much-appreciated words that testify to his great attention. Even if the Pope did not recall Ukraine so frequently, his concern and his pain for what is happening would still be perceptible. Of course, some in the country are complaining because they would like him to express an even more explicit stance. But apart from the Pope, no other public figure in the world has uttered such strong and clear words for our attacked people. Surely the language of the Pope is not a political language. Because his is a moral condemnation of war, but without making an appeal for some particular action. It is enough to listen to it to realize that the message is very clear; we just need intellectual honesty.
