In an interview with the Holy See's official media on May 27, 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope's Secretary of State, explained that the Vatican can offer a “neutral, protected” venue for negotiations between those involved in the war in Ukraine, but stressed that other locations are also possible.
On Gaza, the Holy See's “number two” considers what is happening there to be “unacceptable.” He also denounced the “cancer of antisemitism.”
Finally, the Italian cardinal dismissed rumors that arose before the conclave about the actions of certain prefects of dicasteries concerning reports of abuse.
Russia-Ukraine meetings
Cardinal Pietro Parolin was the Secretary of State of the Holy See under Pope Francis and has for the moment been reappointed to this position by Pope Leo XIV.
In an interview with Vatican News, he clarified the Vatican's diplomatic efforts in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
“Pope Leo has offered the Holy See’s full availability to host any negotiations, providing a neutral, protected venue,” he said.
President Donald Trump expressed his support for this possibility on May 19. Pope Francis had already expressed the Vatican's availability, and reiterated it through various channels.
However, Pope Leo XIV's secretary of state clarified:
“Mediation must be requested by the parties. In this case, there has only been a public offer of hospitality for a possible meeting,” he explained.
While Moscow seems opposed to the Vatican as a venue for negotiations, Cardinal Parolin insists that it is “not important” where the meetings will take place, but rather that negotiations “finally begin, because it is urgent to stop the war.”
“Other potential venues are now being discussed, such as Geneva,” the Italian diplomat added.
Shortly after Donald Trump's statements about possible talks at the Vatican, experts told I.MEDIA that the option is unlikely. François Mabille, associate researcher at IRIS and director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, highlighted “the difficulty for the Vatican to appear neutral towards Moscow, which considers itself to be the Third Rome.”
In his interview with Vatican media, Cardinal Parolin reiterated Pope Leo XIV's position on the conflict: to achieve “stable, just, and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
The tragedy in Gaza and the cancer of antisemitism
As the Israeli army continues to bomb the Gaza Strip and the death toll since October 7, 2023, is reported to have risen to over 54,000, Cardinal Parolin once again condemned this situation, saying it is “unacceptable.”
“International humanitarian law must always apply,” he insists, as Israel has blocked humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip since March and aid is only resuming in dribs and drabs.
In line with the position of the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin calls on the international community to stop the bombings and deliver the necessary aid.
At the same time, he asks Hamas to “immediately” release the Israeli hostages still being held and to return the bodies of those killed after the “barbaric” attack on October 7, 2023.
Reacting to the recent murders of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, he said it “shook me profoundly.”
“We must remain vigilant and ensure that the cancer of antisemitism, never fully defeated, does not rear its head again,” he said.
