Pope Francis once again called for an end to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East by launching peace negotiations.
That’s according to Vatican News.
In his speech, the Pope mentioned “war-torn peoples of Ukraine and the Holy Land, Palestine, and Israel, who suffer so greatly from the horror of war.”
“Let us never forget,” the Pope reiterated, “war is always a defeat. One cannot go on in war.”
“We must make every effort,” he insisted, “to negotiate to end the war.”
He also called on believers to pray for peace talks to begin.
It should be recalled that last week, Pope Francis called on Ukraine to “find the courage of the white flag”, implying that negotiations are needed to stop the war.
Such a statement sparked mixed reactions and was widely criticized in Ukraine and in the West.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, reminded the pontiff that the Russian invaders are not moving further to conquer Europe only because Ukrainian defenders are not allowing them to do so by fiercely resisting the onslaught.
At the same time, in Russia, many began to praise the pontiff. Representatives of the aggressor state referred to him as “a true and sincere supporter of humanism, peace and traditional values.”
