Photo copyright: Reuters
March 10, 2024
Ukrainian officials criticized the loud statement of Pope Francis, who the day before called on Kyiv to “negotiate before the situation worsens.” In response to the pontiff’s words regarding the “white flag” that Kyiv can put up to avoid casualties, Ukraine stated that it intends to continue the fight.
Pope Francis made his statement in interview Swiss broadcaster RSI. The correspondent of this media in Italy, Lorenzo Bucelli, asked Francis: “Some in Ukraine are calling for the courage to surrender, to put up a white flag. But others say it legitimizes the rule of the strongest. What do you think of it?”
In response, the head of the Vatican said: “I think that the stronger one is the one who sees the situation, who thinks regarding the people, who has the courage of the white flag to negotiate. And today you can negotiate with the help of foreign powers. The word “negotiations” is a bold word. When you see that you are failing, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate. Shame on you, but how many deaths will this end in?”
“Negotiate on time, look for some kind of mediator country. Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine there are many who want to act as mediators. Türkiye offered itself for this. And others. Don’t be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse,” Francis added.
The day before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following a meeting in Istanbul with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, proposed holding a peace summit with Russia’s participation to end the war.
Zelensky said that he wants peace, but is not ready to give Russia the occupied territories. Zelensky’s peace plan provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine and the restoration of borders. The Kremlin refused to participate in peace negotiations on the terms put forward by Kiev.
The interview with the head of the Roman Catholic Church was recorded in February, long before Erdogan’s proposal, Reuters notes. It will air in full on March 20.
After Francis’ words caused a sharp reaction in Kyiv and other European capitals, the Vatican issued a clarification. His press service said that the pontiff wants peace for Ukraine and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and he used the words “white flag” as an image suggested by the journalist who asked the questions.
In the past, Francis has repeatedly called for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, but he has not previously mentioned a “white flag” or the possibility of Kyiv’s defeat. The pope has also been repeatedly criticized for refusing to directly condemn Russian aggression once morest Ukraine, even though he called it a “martyr country.”
In another part of the interview, speaking regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, Francis said that “negotiation is not capitulation.” “This is the courage not to drive the country to suicide,” he said.
What was the response to Francis’ words in Kyiv?
Immediately following Francis’s statements, many users of Ukrainian social networks began to publish sharply critical comments. They were soon joined by officials.
Photo caption,
About 5 million Greek Catholics live in Ukraine. In this photo, the head of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine opens a memorial to those killed during the war with Russia
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba wrote on the X network (formerly Twitter) that “the strongest is the one who takes the side of good in the battle between good and evil, and does not try to equalize them, calling it negotiations.”
Kuleba also hinted at the Vatican’s position during World War II, when Pope Pius, according to some historians, knew regarding the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, but did nothing.
“I urge you not to repeat historical mistakes and to consistently support Ukraine and its people in a fair fight for their own lives,” Kuleba wrote. — Our flag is blue and yellow. Under it we live, die and conquer. We will not raise other flags.”
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also thanked Francis “for his constant prayers for peace” and expressed hope that “following two years of destructive war in the heart of Europe, he will find the opportunity to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine to support more than a million Ukrainian Catholics, more than five million Greeks -Catholics, all Christians and all Ukrainians.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not directly mention Francis’ statement in his evening address. However, he clearly had it in mind when he said that Russian aggression does not extend to the whole of Europe, only because “they are held back by Ukrainians and Ukrainian women with weapons in their hands and under the blue and yellow flag.”
“In Ukraine there were once many white walls of houses and churches, which are now burned and broken by Russian shells. And this very eloquently says who exactly must stop in order for the war to stop,” Zelensky said.
He thanked the Ukrainian chaplains, that is, the priests who are in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and added: “This is what the church is – with people. And not two and a half thousand kilometers away – somewhere out there to engage in virtual mediation between those who want to live and those who want to destroy you.”
Some foreign leaders also reacted to Francis’ words. The foreign minister of Poland, a country with a predominantly Catholic population, asked why the pope is not calling on Vladimir Putin to have the courage to withdraw the Russian army from Ukrainian territory.
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Not the first scandal
This is not the first time Francis’ remarks have caused outrage in Ukraine. Last August, the pope, speaking via video to participants in the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth, said: “Don’t forget that you are the heirs of the great mother Russia, a great country, its history, its saints, its great cultural figures. You are the heirs of great Russia, therefore – thank you, thank you for how you know how to be Russian. Keep this heritage, take care of it, thank you.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the pope is reproducing imperialist propaganda. The Russian President’s press secretary said that he was pleased to hear such words.
After this, Francis said that his formulation may have been unfortunate, but he was referring to Russian culture, not Russian imperialism. “I did not mean imperialism… Maybe it was not formulated in the best way, but when I spoke regarding great Russia, I meant not so much geography as culture,” Pope Francis said then.
In addition, in April 2023, before Easter, a representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the Vatican’s decision to invite boys from Ukraine and Russia to jointly participate in the procession.
Then, during the traditional Easter procession, two teenagers prayed together: a Ukrainian who received asylum in Italy following the capture of Mariupol, and a Russian whose brother died in the war in Ukraine, and whose father and grandfather went missing.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry made it clear that Ukraine tried to convince the Vatican to abandon such a gesture, but its voice was not listened to. “Unfortunately, we have to admit that this year’s proceedings were once more overshadowed by an attempt to equate the victim and the aggressor,” a representative of Kyiv wrote in this regard.
