Pope Francis has come under fire after he encouraged Russian youths
not to give up their “legacy” as heirs of a “great, enlightened Russian
empire.”
“Never give up this legacy, you are the heirs of the great Mother
Russia, go forward with it,” Pope Francis told young Russians gathered
for the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth in St. Petersburg on
Friday.
During the speech, a clip of which was posted online, the pope also invoked former Russian emperors Peter I and Catherine II,
two rulers who played key roles in expanding Russia’s conquests in
Europe, and who are known as symbols of Russian imperialism.
“You are the heirs of the great Russia: the great Russia of saints,
of kings, the great Russia of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, of that
great, enlightened Russian empire, of great culture and great humanity,”
he said.
The comments have sparked outrage online, with many criticizing the pope’s decision to praise Russia’s imperialist past, especially considering the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
“It is with such imperialist propaganda, ‘spiritual scraps’ and the
‘need’ to save ‘the great Mother Russia’ that the Kremlin justifies the
murders of thousands of Ukrainian men and women and the destruction of
hundreds of Ukrainian towns and villages,” Oleg Nikolenko, Ukraine’s
foreign ministry spokesperson, said in a statement on Facebook Monday.
“It is very unfortunate that Russian great-power ideas, which are
actually the cause of Russia’s chronic aggressiveness, knowingly or
unknowingly, sound from the lips of the Pope, whose mission, in our
understanding, is precisely to open the eyes of Russian youth to a
destructive course the current Russian leadership.”
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also condemned the pope’s words and demanded an explanation from him.
“The examples given by the Holy Father actually contradict his
teachings on peace, since he has always condemned any form of
manifestation of imperialism in the modern world and warned of the
dangers of extreme nationalism, stressing that it is the cause of the
‘third world war in segments,'” Chairman of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church Svyatoslav Shevchuk said in a statement.
However, in the rest of his speech, posted online by the Vatican, the pope tells Russian youth to be “artisans of peace” and to “sow seeds of reconciliations.”
The Vatican’s embassy in Kyiv released a statement late on Monday,
denying that the pope “encouraged young Russian Catholics to draw
inspiration from historical Russian figures known for imperialistic and
expansionist ideas and actions … Pope Francis has never endorsed
imperialistic notions,” it said in the press release. “On the contrary,
he is a staunch opponent and critic of any form of imperialism or
colonialism across all peoples and situations.”
The Vatican also commented
on the pope’s remarks, saying he “intended to encourage young people to
preserve and promote what is positive in Russia’s great cultural and
spiritual heritage, and certainly not to glorify imperialistic logics
and governmental personalities.”
Pope Francis has repeatedly criticized the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, calling for an end to the conflict. But has also made some controversial remarks, seemingly blaming NATO for the conflict, and has refused to denounce Putin by name.
This article has been updated to include responses from the
Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Vatican
and the Vatican embassy in Kyiv
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