Zelensky rejects the Pope’s appeal
Published: Sunday, Mar 10th 2024, 21:41
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sharply rejected a misleading appeal by Pope Francis for peace negotiations with Russia. The Church is with the people, Selensky said in his evening video address on Sunday. "And not two and a half thousand kilometers away, somewhere, to mediate virtually between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you."
"When Russian evil started this war on February 24, all Ukrainians stood up to defend themselves. Christians, Muslims, Jews - everyone," said Selensky. And he thanked every Ukrainian cleric who is in the army, in the defense forces. They are on the front line, they protect life and humanity, they support with prayers, conversations and deeds. "That's what the church is - with the people."
The pontiff had triggered massive opposition with a misleading appeal for peace negotiations in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The statements by the head of the Catholic Church were understood in Ukraine and by many of its supporters as a one-sided appeal to Kiev alone - by some even as a call for capitulation. In a Swiss television interview published at the weekend, the 87-year-old also used the term "white flag" in reference to the difficulties of the Ukrainian army - in times of war, this has been the sign of surrender, i.e. giving up without a fight against enemy troops, for centuries.
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