Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will visit the Vatican on Friday, October 16 and she will also travel to Jerusalem before the presidential election campaign begins.
“I will go to the Vatican at the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI. It
is very important for me to hold all necessary discussions about
cooperation between the government in Ukraine and the Council of
Churches, and about what steps we have been making to help churches
fulfill their mission. I think it is a very important discussion,
because, in my opinion, only from spiritual revival can the country’s
economic revival begin,” says a statement, posted on Tymoshenko’s web
blog.
The Ukrainian prime minister also plans to visit the holy sites in Jerusalem.
“I, as an Orthodox, want to see all the holy sites of great
importance for the Orthodox believers, before a hard trial begins – the
presidential elections and, most important, the restoration of order in
the country after the presidential elections,” Tymoshenko said.
In July 2009 Pope Benedict invited the Ukrainian prime minister to visit the Vatican, earlier reports said.
The Ukrainian presidential election campaign begins on October 19.
