Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has spoken once again about the peace mission for Ukraine Pope Francis entrusted to him. One of the priorities is the return of the Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia during the conflict. The Pope's special envoy noted that this task “is beginning to bear fruit.”

Cardinal Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, Italy, said, “We are starting to protect the little ones as Archbishop Shevchuk has said. It is the duty of the mission, entrusted to me by Pope Francis, which has begun to bear some fruit for those who need to be reunited with their families.

The cardinal made an appeal not only in his home archdiocese of Bologna, but throughout Italy. He also encouraged people to start welcoming the Ukrainian children—the main victims of the war.

He added, “I would like us now to think about bringing the Ukrainian children to come as guests in our families here and throughout Italy— the children who carry in their delicate and sacred hearts the wounds of war, who have lost their fathers or who are simply scarred by the fears caused by the madness of war."

Cardinal Zuppi pronounced these words during an Eastern Byzantine Rite Mass in the Cathedral of Bologna. He invited the major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to celebrate the liturgy on the Feast of All Saints. For his part, Archbishop Shevchuck thanked the cardinal for his solidarity and work in the Vatican's peace mission for Ukraine.