Vatican Tries to Clarify Pope Francis’ Remarks on Russia

Pope Francis didn’t intend to “glorify imperialistic logic” in off-the-cuff remarks final week about expansionist 18th-century Russian rulers, the Vatican stated on Tuesday, in search of to calm an outcry over comments that some critics stated have been too near President Vladimir V. Putin’s justifications for invading Ukraine.

In a video speech to younger Russian Catholics on Friday, “The Pope meant to encourage the youth to protect and promote all that’s optimistic within the nice Russian cultural and non secular legacy,” the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, stated in a press release. “Absolutely to not glorify imperialistic logic and authorities personalities.”

On the conclusion of his speech, by which Francis inspired younger Catholic Russians to construct bridges between generations and unfold seeds of reconciliation, he invoked the legacy of the “Nice Russia of saints, rulers, Nice Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire — nice, enlightened, of nice tradition and nice humanity.”

These feedback appeared to deviate from his ready remarks, which have been launched in a Vatican bulletin that didn’t point out the extemporaneous references to the 2 former Russian tsars, who invaded components of Ukraine within the 18th centuries.

These feedback have been instantly criticized in Ukraine and in different former Soviet international locations. Mr. Putin, who in contrast himself to Peter the Nice in a speech last year, has talked about the concept of rebuilding the Russian empire in reference to the warfare in Ukraine, which was a part of the Soviet Union till its collapse three many years in the past.

A spokesman for Ukraine’s Overseas Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, wrote on Fb that it was “very unlucky that Russian grand-state concepts, which, actually, are the reason for Russia’s continual aggression, knowingly or unknowingly, come from the Pope’s mouth.”

The chief of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, additionally expressed “ache” and “disappointment” over the pope’s remarks, which he stated contradicted Francis’ doctrine of peace.

Within the early months of the warfare set off by the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the pope was criticized for not taking a powerful sufficient stance towards Russia, apparently following a normal technique of the Holy See to keep away from alienating any warring facet earlier than doable peace negotiations. However because the warfare has continued, Francis has reversed course and referred to as Ukrainians “martyrs” in a “morally unjust” warfare.