Pope Francis and Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová held "cordial" talks focused on the bilateral relations existing between the Holy See and the Slovak Republic, wrote the Holy See Press Office reporting on Čaputová’s Saturday 45 minute audience in Vatican City. They also discussed in more detail the war in Ukraine and its impact on the regional and international level, with a focus on the humanitarian situation, the reception of refugees and the socio-economic crisis. The Slovak head of state subsequently met with the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Paul Richard Gallagher. "We always have a choice about how to behave. The Holy Father said in his message to Slovakia today: 'Unity is more important than conflict'," the Slovak head of state posted on a social network.
The president's official delegation included personalities from various spheres of social life, including Catholic dissident Frantisek Mikloško, Radoslava Trokšiarová, who was injured in the recent hate attack against the LGBTI+ community, the vicar provincial of the Salesians Peter Jacko, the coordinator of an aid centre for refugees from Ukraine called 'Camp Žilina' Martina Ďurčová, the palliative care physician from the National Cancer Institute Kristina Križanová and the holder of the 2021 Teacher of Slovakia award Alexandra Hučeková.
Source: TASR
