CURRENT WAR IS ‘BLASPHEMOUS BETRAYAL’ OF GOD: POPE FRANCIS SAYS

Wed 13 April 2022:

On Wednesday, Pope Francis condemned “armed aggression” in Ukraine as blasphemy and betrayal of God.

Although the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics did not mention Russia or Ukraine by name, his comments plainly alluded to the continuing war between Kiev and Moscow.

“The weapons of the Gospel are prayer, tenderness, forgiveness and freely-given love for one’s neighbor, to any neighbor. This is how God’s peace is brought into the world,” Francis said during his weekly audience.

“This is why the armed aggression of these days, like every war, represents an outrage against God, a blasphemous betrayal of the Lord of Passover, a preference for the face of the false god of this world over his meek one,” he added.

During the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Francis has repeatedly condemned war and called out for peace, but has shied away from directly criticizing Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to observers, this is partly due to Pope Francis’ desire to avoid overtly taking sides in the hope of serving as a mediator, and partly due to Pope Francis’ desire to avoid causing a crisis in the Vatican’s delicate relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, is a staunch supporter of the war, which began on Feb. 24.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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