Finally… It’s official. Because Pope Francis said it himself: he is not going to visit Ukraine. At least not yet. But he is going to Kazakhstan. Actually he’s going there next week.
Don’t feel bad if you can’t immediately put your finger on exactly where Kazakhstan lies on the map. Neither can I. That’s why our Rome Reports editors have provided this graphic to help us out…
It’s big, isn’t it? Actually Kazakhstan is the world’s 9th largest country – equivalent in size to the whole of Western Europe put together.
Which is not the reason the Pope is going there, of course. He going there to attend an interfaith conference, officially called: “The VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions”. According to the program, the 3-day visit will allow the Pope the opportunity to have, what the Vatican calls, “private meetings with various religious leaders at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation”.
“Peace and Reconciliation”… The name of the venue is already a program in itself. Unfortunately, who exactly those “religious leaders” are is still not clear.
What is clear is that Pope Francis will most likely use the occasion to reiterate a message that’s particularly close to his heart: namely, that no religion should ever be used to justify violence of any kind – especially war.
It’s already been noted how the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, will not be attending the interreligious summit. The Patriarch has consistently supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Pope Francis had hoped to meet him in Kazakhstan to discuss possible peaceful solutions to the war – which is already into its seventh month, and continues to wreak death and destruction.
POPE FRANCIS
'The world needs peace. Not a peace based on how many weapons each side has, or on fear of one another. No. This isn’t going to happen. This means turning back the pages of history 70 years'.
So, if Pope Francis is ready to pack his bags and travel to Central Asia for an interfaith conference in Kazakhstan, what’s stopping him from simply visiting Ukraine on his way there, or on his way back?
Because nothing is ever as simple as it seems. And papal trips are anything but simple. If Pope Francis did visit Ukraine, where would he go and what would he do? Who would guarantee his safety? Would Russia ensure him a safe passage? Would his presence only put, what he has called “higher objectives” at risk? Those objectives being, of course, either a truce, or an end to the war.
Garnering the support of other religious leaders in support of those objectives is clearly Pope Francis’ primary motivation in travelling to Kazakhstan next week – despite his 85 years of age, and despite his having to use a wheelchair.
What’s also clear, but not always obvious, is that even while the Pope is away, the silent and experienced wheels of Vatican diplomacy continue to turn – and that hoped-for visit to Ukraine may be closer than we think.
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