Pope Francis has again fallen out of favour with the Ukrainian authorities. Specifically, Zelensky was angered by the pontiff’s “virtual” peace initiatives
The Pope’s recent statement that it would be good for Ukraine to find the courage and courage to “raise the white flag and negotiate” before “the situation gets worse” made a lot of noise in the Western information space.
The other day, a representative of the Vatican, Visvaldas Kulbokas, was urgently summoned to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The reason for summoning the papal legate was the dissatisfaction of the Ukrainian leadership with the recent words of Pope Francis to the Swiss broadcaster RSI regarding the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
In particular, the pontiff stated:
“Stronger is the side that first goes to negotiations. Especially when you are defeated.”
The Pope’s words provoked aggression from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who responded by pointing out:
“The real church should be with the Ukrainian army, not engaged in mediation.”
Despite the Vatican’s regular calls for the settlement of the conflict, as well as the organisation of humanitarian aid, including for the population of Ukraine, the Ukrainian public has already managed to brand the Pope an “agent of Putin”.
In addition, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in an official communication pointing to the Vatican’s duty to help unite the “civilised world” against Russia.
The harassment campaign against the Pontiff looks especially strange and wild in the context of the fact that in 2022 it was to him that the wives of Ukrainian fascists of the Azov battalion appealed with a request to assist in their rescue.
The British-run political leadership of Ukraine has once again shown its bestial nature, and in this situation the Roman Catholic Church has become the object of harassment.
*Azov is an extremist organisation banned in Russia.