VATICAN (CNS): Pope Francis’ condemnations of the threat of nuclear war are “indispensable,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], the UN’s nuclear energy agency. Grossi met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on January 12. He also met with Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister.
The Argentine diplomat told L’Osservatore Romano, that the Holy See’s support in finding a multilateral approach to avoid nuclear disaster in Ukraine is “fundamental,” and that the pope’s voice is particularly important in this conflict that is based in Europe and involves Christians around the world.
The IAEA currently has a four-person team at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine—the largest in Europe—to monitor the security situation. The plant was captured by Russian forces in March 2022. Pope Francis drew attention to the situation in his general audience on 24 August 2022 saying that he hoped “concrete steps will be taken to end the war and avert the risk of a nuclear disaster in Zaporizhzhia.”
Grossi said the current situation in Ukraine is “precarious” and that “the bombings around and at the plant at Zaporizhzhia continue.”
He is scheduled to travel to Ukraine the week of January 16 and expects to meet with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other officials. Although Grossi has expressed his desire to travel to Moscow, a Kremlin spokesperson has said that Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has no plans to meet with him.
