Pope Francis has one again called on Ukraine to begin negotiations with Moscow towards a peace deal: “Let us never forget war is always a defeat. One cannot go on in war. We must make every effort to negotiate to end the war.” This has sparked a wave of fury and anti-Catholic speech in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Pope had stated Kyiv should “have the courage to raise the white flag and to negotiate”. In an interview last month, he said “When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate.”
The Pope’s call is far from absurd. Even NATO’s former Supreme Commander, James Stavridis, has called for a land-for-peace deal for Ukraine. Regardless of one's stance on the ongoing conflict (for which the West has a lot of blame to carry), when military victory is not attainable, nations have historically sought peace by means of diplomacy.
As Connor Echols writes, in his piece for Responsible Statecraft, the US Congress is not likely to pass any further aid for Ukraine in the near future and the Pope’s comments in fact “sound closer to reality than a lot of the pontification coming from European capitals.”.
Ukrainian officials, in any case, have responded by attacking the Catholic Church and comparing the Pope’s statement to Catholic clergy collaboration with the Nazis in World War II. Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, went as far as to compare the suggestion to talking to Adolf Hitler. Those are peculiar choices of words, considering that Ukraine has its own Nazi problem. Ukrainian nationalist and far-right outlets have published obscene cartoons ridiculing the Pope and this did not reflect well on Ukraine’s catholic partners and neighbors. (more...)
Kyiv antagonizing Catholic Church after Pope’s calls for peace negotiations
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