Pope Francis said he is plagued by “rivers of blood and tears” and has made a direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the “spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine.
At a speech devoted to Ukraine in St. Peter’s Square, the head of the Catholic Church also denounced the annexation of four areas of Ukraine, warned that it could lead to a nuclear conflict, and pleaded with Putin to consider his own citizens.
One Vatican source remarked that the passionate speech was so solemn it was reminiscent of Pope John XXIII’s 1962 radio plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Francis has frequently denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the deaths it has brought about, but this was the first occasion he addressed Putin directly.
Francis urged the Russian president in particular, “begging him to stop this spiral of violence and death, even out of love for his own people.”
Additionally, he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take into account suggestions to end the fighting.
On the other hand, he stated, “I direct an equally hopeful appeal to the president of Ukraine to be open to a meaningful peace plan. I am grieved by the immense suffering of the Ukrainian community as a result of the aggression it suffered.”
He claimed it was “absurd” that the world was in danger of a nuclear conflict and made an urgent appeal “in the name of God” for an end to the fighting.
Later, Francis tweeted both of the requests to the two presidents in Ukrainian and Russian.
Putin declared the annexation of four Ukrainian territories that were only partially seized two days prior, declaring the population of the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions “our citizens forever.”
The annexation was denounced as unlawful by Ukraine and its friends in the West, and Kyiv vowed to keep up the battle until all of its lands were reclaimed.
A UN resolution that would have labeled Russia’s referendums “illegal” and urged all nations not to recognize any “purported annexation” of the region by Moscow was rejected by Russia.
“Indefensible suffering”
The eastern supplies hub of Lyman was fully seized by Ukraine on Sunday, marking the country’s biggest victory on the battlefield in recent weeks.
Francis made an obvious reference to the annexation when he remarked, “I profoundly condemn the grave situation that has been created in the last few days, with new actions that are antithetical to the precepts of international law.”
Francis stated it was also important to respect “the rights of minorities and [their] genuine concerns” in reference to ethnic Russians residing in Ukraine.
Francis described it as “anguishing” that the names of locations like Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izyum, Zaporizhzhia, and other places where people had experienced “indescribable sorrow and fear” were used to teach the world about Ukrainian geography.
