He does not see it as timely to convene the III. Vatican Council is the head of the Catholic Church, because he sees the II. the council's objectives have not yet been realized.
Vatican diplomacy continues mediating between the parties and peace initiatives, the Holy Father stated in an interview published on Friday on the Spanish digital portal Vida Nueva, in which he also spoke about priestly service, among other things.
Pope Francis called the efforts to end the war in Ukraine a peace offensive. He stated that he wanted to continue the diplomatic work he had started, which he had entrusted to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who had been negotiating in Kiev, Moscow and Washington until now.
The head of the Catholic Church said, based on Cardinal Zuppi's reports, "In Kyiv, they continue to focus on victory, not taking advantage of the opportunity to mediate." He called Moscow's behavior towards the papal envoy "diplomatic".
He believed that in terms of mediation between the parties, the most significant progress has been made so far in the matter of the return of children transported from Ukraine to Russia. In order to achieve this, Pope Francis added, he intends to appoint a permanent diplomatic representative who will act as a bridge between the Russian and Ukrainian authorities.
"For me, this is a big step in the midst of the pain of the war," he said, referring to the children's return home as soon as possible.
He confirmed that Cardinal Zuppi's next stop would be Beijing, as "Washington and Beijing hold the key to de-escalating the conflict." He said that Vatican diplomacy is working on the preparation of a peace meeting, which would be held in Abu Dhabi with the participation of religious leaders in November before the UN climate summit in Dubai.
The initiative is coordinated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and Abu Dhabi was chosen because the peace meeting was "held outside the Vatican, on neutral territory".
As for future papal trips, Pope Francis said he is planning to go to Kosovo and his home country of Argentina, and plans include a visit to Spain. At the same time, he noted that he wants to go through the smaller countries in Europe before the bigger ones.
Pope Francis, who is currently participating in the World Youth Summit in Lisbon, spoke to Vida Nueva before leaving.
He said that we need "normal" seminarians who do not follow a left-wing, right-wing or centrist pastoral ideology, who do not preach dogmas, but who act, walk in the world, face their problems, and play soccer.
He explained that the time for a third Vatican Council had not yet arrived, as the decisions of the second Vatican Council, which began in 1962, had not yet been implemented.
MTI
