April 26, 2014: Pope Francis on Saturday received in the Vatican Ukraine’s prime minister
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who later met Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin
along with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Dominique Mamberti. Yatsenyuk
had come to Rome for Sunday’s canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II,
but escalating Ukrainian-Russian tensions prompted him to return home Saturday itself.
A Vatican statement said the cordial talks between the Holy See and Ukraine reviewed
the current situation in the former Soviet republic, hoping that all parties concerned
will collaborate constructively for the political and social stability in the nation
with regard to international law and promote understanding among the people of the
region. The Holy See and Ukraine also stressed the specific role that Churches,
religious organizations as well as every believer are called to carry out to bring
about reciprocal respect and harmony among all the sections of society. The two sides
underscored the international community’s possible initiatives in this regard. At
the end of his meeting, Pope Francis gifted the Ukrainian prime minister a fountain
pen, telling him, ``I hope that you write `peace' with this pen.'' Yatsenyuk replied:
``I hope so, too.'' Among other dignitaries who paid Pope Francis a visit in the
Vatican on Saturday, were Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernandex Alvarado, Queen
Paola of Belgium and Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski.