Pope Francis confirms secret Vatican mission in Ukraine

Pope Francis confirmed Sunday that the Vatican is involved in a secret peace “mission” aimed to return Ukrainian children who were moved to Russia during the war between the two nations. 

“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during a press conference. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway. When it’s public, I’ll talk about it.”

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday he asked the pope for assistance in this effort to bring his country’s children back home.

“I asked the Vatican and the Holy Father for help in getting back children taken by force by Russia,” Shmyhal told reporters.

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Francis said Sunday that the Ukraine children’s rescue efforts were a topic of discussion during his visit to Hungary, where he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest.

“In these meetings we did not just talk about ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’” Francis said. “We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace.”

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“The Holy See is willing to do this because it is the right thing,” Francis said of the secret mission. “All human gestures help, but gestures of cruelty don’t help. We have to do all that is humanly possible.”

Shmyhal said he invited Francis to visit Ukraine. The pope has previously said he wishes to visit Ukraine and Russia to help establish peace.