Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
"War is a pandemic. It involves us all," said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Italian prelate chosen by Pope Francis to lead an initiative for peace in Ukraine.
Pope Francis has asked Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna to lead a mission "to help ease tensions in the conflict in Ukraine," the Vatican press office said.
A popular blog that closely monitors the Vatican has reported that Pope Francis wants to send envoys to Moscow and Kyiv to begin discussions about achieving a truce.
Pope Francis updated the "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State," opening the possibility that laypeople can be members of its governing commission and emphasizing that the independence of the city-state is essential for the mission of the Holy See.
After literally hundreds of public prayers for peace in Ukraine and 443 days after Russia launched an all-out war on the Eastern European country, Pope Francis welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Vatican.
When Pope Francis told reporters the Vatican had some kind of "mission" underway to promote an end to the war in Ukraine, journalists naturally were intrigued.
Shortly after urging people to pray the rosary for peace and entrusting the people of Ukraine to Mary's care, Pope Francis met briefly with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, director of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Holy See has a project underway related to peace between Russia and Ukraine, but Pope Francis told reporters he could not talk about it yet.
Paying homage to Hungary's history, culture and location in the heart of Europe, Pope Francis pushed against the notion that the country needed to insulate itself to protect its identity.
Pope Francis meets Ukrainian prime minister at Vatican
After a half-hour private meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis gave the prime minister of Ukraine a bronze plaque featuring a bird and a flower alongside the inscription, "Peace is a fragile flower."