The Holy Father recognized the difference between his own words and the comparisons addressed to the Russian youth, and assured that the fears of the Ukrainian faithful about the side he is taking are unfounded.
The bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on Wednesday, September 6, met with Pope Francis in the Vatican. During the meeting, they, in particular, expressed the regret of the Ukrainian people about the pontiff’s statements about “great Russia”, the press service of the UGCC reports.
It was noted that during the meeting, which, at the initiative of Pope Francis, began an hour earlier than planned, the representatives of the UGCC expressed the pain, suffering and frustration of the Ukrainian people.
“In a conversation with the Holy Father, we expressed everything that our faithful in Ukraine and around the world ordered us to convey to him,” said His Beatitude Svyatoslav, head of the UGCC.
In particular, the bishops said that some statements and actions of the Holy See and the Pontiff are painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people to understand, and the misunderstandings that have arisen between Ukraine and the Vatican, which have arisen since beginning of a full-scale war, is used by Russian propaganda to justify and support the deadly ideology of “Russian world”.
As stated in the message, the Pope recognized the difference between his own words and the comparisons addressed to the Russian youth, and assured that the fears of the Ukrainian faithful about the side he is occupying are unfounded.
“I want to assure you of my solidarity with you and continue to be close in prayer. I am with the Ukrainian people,” he stressed.
The Ukrainian priests appealed to Francis with a request to continue the effort to free the prisoners of war, in particular, they reminded him of the priests still in captivity.
It will be remembered that on August 25, Francis addressed the participants of the All-Russian meeting of Catholic youth with a speech. He called them “heirs of a great nation” and urged them not to forget about it.
“You are the heirs of Great Russia: Great Russia of saints, leaders, Great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire – great, educated, [страны] great culture and great humanity. Never give up this heritage, you are the heirs of the great mother Russia, keep it going,” he said.
The Kremlin then called Pope Francis’ statement “very comforting”, and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called it ordinary imperialist propaganda, in which the Kremlin justified the murders of thousands of Ukrainians and Ukrainian women and the destruction of hundreds of cities and villages of Ukraine.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.