After Kiev and Moscow, the road to peace also passes through Washington. Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Bologna, met with the president of the United States Joe Biden at the White House. An invitation that is far from obvious, which underlines the attention of the democratic president and practicing Catholic for the Vatican and the Pope. The goal? “Talk, listen and be heard”. Two keywords of the Holy See which for months has been trying to find solutions to the war in Ukraine.
Biden Soups: What Did They Discuss?
The meeting between Biden and Zuppi comes at a time of high tension in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the suspension of the grain export agreement and of Ukrainian cereals and the bombing of the port of Odessa. But what did they say?
According to the official White House statement, Biden and Zuppi discussed the Holy See's efforts to provide humanitarian aid to address the suffering caused by Russia's aggression, as well as the Vatican's commitment to the return of the deported Ukrainian children forcibly in Russia. The American president expressed to Zuppi the hope that Pope Francis "continues in his ministry and global leadership" and welcomed the recent appointment as cardinal of a US archbishop, Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago.
In addition to being an interlocutor accepted by all parties, the Vatican acquires the role of reference for any negotiations and possible negotiations. A role which, according to the intentions of the Holy See, will find further confirmation with a visit to Beijing.