Pope Francis rebukes Russian Orthodox leader’s defense of Ukraine invasion: reports

Pope Francis issued Wednesday a sharp rebuke of any “religious justification” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Vatican and media reports.

The leader of the world’s 1.8 billion Roman Catholics made his comments in a videoconference with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who is reportedly close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the Feb. 24 invasion.

“There was a time, even in our Churches, when people spoke of a holy war or a just war. Today we cannot speak in this manner. A Christian awareness of the importance of peace has developed,” the Vatican News service quoted Francis as saying.

“The Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus,” the 85-year-old pontiff added. 

Kirill declared in a March 6 sermon marking the advent of Orthodox Lent that Ukraine had engaged in the “extermination” of Russian partisans in the breakaway Ukrainian territory of Donbas, which Moscow-backed separatists have held for eight years.

The patriarch said those in Donbas suffered opposition because of their “fundamental rejection of the so-called values that are offered today by those who claim world power,” according to The Associated Press.

A statement by Kirill’s press office said the two spiritual leaders held “a detailed discussion of the situation on Ukrainian soil” with “particular attention” given “to the humanitarian aspects of the current crisis” and what the two groups are doing to help victims.

The Kirill office’s statement noted: “The parties stressed the exceptional importance of the ongoing negotiation process, expressing their hope for the soonest achievement of a just peace.”

On Tuesday, the Vatican press office announced that Francis will “consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” on March 25 in a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. On the same day, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski will perform a similar act of consecration at the Catholic shrine in Fatima, Portugal, the press office said.