Pope meets Ukrainian PM

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.