“The Pope’s word in stopping the war and stopping the aggression is very important. During the audience, I also said that Lithuania appreciates the attention of the Holy See, prayers for the suffering Ukrainian nation and help for war refugees from Ukraine. Recently, Pope Francis transferred 100,000 to the Lithuanian “Caritas”. euros for the needs of refugees”, the Speaker of the Seimas is quoted in the report.
The head of the parliament notes that Lithuania calls on the international community to support the peace plan of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“If Ukraine does not win, one day the war may come to Lithuania as well,” V. Čmilytė-Nielsen is convinced.
At the meeting, the Speaker of the Seimas emphasized that the relations between Lithuania and the Holy See are special, and one of the most important moments illustrating the Holy See’s support for Lithuania is the fact that it never recognized the Soviet occupation and worked for the collapse of this regime.
“Our people accepted the Pope’s visit in 2018 as an exceptional sign of support for Lithuania, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the state. Last year we celebrated the recognition of Lithuania by the Holy See de jure century – an important occasion that strengthened the ties between our nation and the Catholic Church”, says V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
The Head of the Parliament said that the Catholic Church has long been a pillar of the inner strength of the Lithuanian people, which helped to preserve the Lithuanian identity, hope and faith, and the close connection with Catholicism was highlighted by the 700th anniversary of the capital Vilnius this year.
“The geographical position of Vilnius, the bastion of Latin Christianity furthest to the East of Europe, and Lithuania presupposes a close contact with Orthodoxy and certain phenomena arising from it. One of them is related to the union of Catholic and Orthodox churches, which was zealously promoted by the archbishop of Lithuania and the first Unitarian Saint Juozapatas”, said V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
On Sunday, the Speaker of the Seimas attended St. At a reception organized on the occasion of St. Joseph’s Day.
The Speaker of the Seimas also met with the Secretary of State of the Vatican Cardinal Pietr Parolin, later she will meet with the Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta Riccardo Paterno di Montecup, and will go to the Pontifical Gregory University. During the visit, she will also visit the Great St. Basilica of the Virgin Mary and the Lithuanian chapel of the Verano cemetery.
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2024-08-23 20:23:56
