Francis will meet Patriarch Cyril, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in September, during his trip to Kazakhstan.
For Pope Francis, the situation in the war in Ukraine cannot be reduced to a clash between “good guys and bad guys” as Russia’s own invasion “may have been provoked in some way or not prevented”. In a conversation with directors of Jesuit cultural magazines that took place last month, although the contents were only made public on Tuesday, the Pope shows nuances when it comes to analyzing the war, but nevertheless praises the Ukrainians for their “heroic” resistance and criticize the «brutality» of the Russian troops.
“Someone might say to me, ‘But you’re for Putin!'” No, I’m not, Jorge Mario Bergoglio says by way of ‘excusatio non petita’. “It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing. I’m just against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys, without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex. In his reasoning on the causes of the conflict, he specifically mentions the arms sector, “interested in testing and selling weapons”, an issue which he says is ultimately “at stake”.
The Pope also recalls the conversation he had before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, on Feb. 24, with a head of state whose identity he does not reveal. This “very wise man” expressed concern about NATO’s actions, explaining that the Atlantic Alliance “barked at the gates of Russia” not understanding that the Russians “are imperial” and “don’t let any powerful power near them.” come”. This leader, who feared the outbreak of war, ‘knew the signs of what was happening’.
In his meeting with the directors of the magazines of the Society of Jesus, the religious congregation to which he belongs, Bergoglio asks “not to forget the human drama of the war”, especially now that the initial concern motivated by the invasion ” is disappearing”. away”. get cold”. In particular, it invites to continue to welcome Ukrainian refugee women and children to prevent them from being “trafficked and not used because the vultures are already circling them”. In the interview, Francis also reveals that he plans to meet Patriarch Cyril, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and religious supporter of Putin, during his trip to Kazakhstan in September.
These statements come a day after Alexey Paramanov, a senior official at the Russian Foreign Ministry, acknowledged that the Vatican is acting as a mediator in the conflict with Ukraine. Paramanov thanked the Holy See for its availability to promote “an open and reserved dialogue on a range of issues, mainly related to the humanitarian situation” in this Eastern European country. In particular, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is working to open corridors that could resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports, in order to avoid famines in countries with less resources due to the rise in food prices.
Source: La Verdad
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