Pope acknowledges Latvian’s fears about Russia, urges prayer

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine continued, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the prime minister and pilgrims from Latvia, another nation bordering Russia.

“While the current conflict in your region may evoke memories of those turbulent times” when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, “it is important for all of us to turn to God and to be strengthened by God’s grace when faced with such tribulation,” the pope told members of the Latvian national Jubilee pilgrimage Nov. 24.

Before meeting about 200 pilgrims, many of whom wore traditional Latvian costumes, the pope met privately with Prime Minister Evika Silina. She also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister.

While the Vatican did not say what she spoke about with Pope Leo, it said the conversation in the Secretariat of State “touched upon several regional and international issues, especially efforts to achieve peace and end the war in Ukraine.”

The New York Times reported earlier in the day that U.S. and Ukrainian officials were expected to continue “negotiating a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war with Russia, after what both sides described as ‘highly productive’ talks over the weekend to revise a plan that many Ukrainians had deemed overly favorable to Moscow.”

Ukraine and its European allies had said the first draft of the U.S. proposal would force Ukraine to give up much of the territory Russia invaded, would cripple Ukraine’s ability to defend itself militarily and would bar Ukraine from seeking NATO membership.

Pope Leo told the Latvian pilgrims he hoped they would draw inspiration from visiting the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and other saints buried in Rome.

“All of them demonstrated that hope does not disappoint despite the uncertainty of their circumstances and the challenges they faced,” he said.

“Hope, which is the central theme of this year’s Jubilee, does not mean having all the answers but rather it calls us to put our trust in God and to follow Christ more closely,” the pope told them.

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