Crux

Pope Francis has drawn criticism for many of his statements following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by Russia that began on Feb. 24, 2022. Just weeks after the 2022 invasion, the pope called Russian President Vladimir Putin to see if he could go to Moscow to ask him to stop the war, a move Ukrainian Catholic leaders called a “disaster.” Speaking to Jesuits working in Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan in 2022, Francis said he thought it was “wrong to think of [the Russia-Ukraine war] like a cowboy movie where there are good guys and bad guys.” “[I]t’s wrong to think that this is a war between Russia and Ukraine and that’s it,” Francis also said on that occasion. “This is a world war,” he said. Since then, Francis has called for a negotiated peace, once even saying Ukraine should “raise the white flag,” after suffering several setbacks in 2024. As the United States says it is working to end the Russia-Ukraine war, it is interesting to listen to other words of the pope. “Towards the end of the first year of the war,” the pontiff said, “I addressed to the warring nations in the most earnest pleas… to a stable and honorable peace for all. Unfortunately, my pleas were not heard, and the war continued, fiercely, for two more years, with all its horrors.” “[The war] became even more cruel and extended over land, sea, even into the air,” the pontiff continued, “and death fell upon defenseless cities, upon quiet villages, upon their innocent populations.” For those who would read those words and find in them further evidence to support the notion Pope Francis is siding with Russia over Ukraine, it’s important to know those aren’t the words of the present pontiff, at all. Those are the words of Pope Benedict XV from 1917, during World War I. Benedict XV said the belligerents must replace “the material force of arms” with “the moral force of law,” and called for international arbitration and the evacuation of occupied territories. He also insisted on a true examination of rival claims. In other words, it’s important to realize that the way Pope Francis has talked about the Russia-Ukraine war is of a piece with the way popes have talked about international conflicts for over a century, beginning with those words from Benedict XV. Pope Pius XII has often been criticized for not actively condemning the Axis Powers, and Pope St. John Paul II was strongly against both invasions of Iraq. After Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, John Paul II said during the build up for a war against Iraq, that “war is an adventure with no return.” “For the area of the gulf, we await with trepidation for the threat of conflict to disappear,” he said. “May leaders be convinced that war is an adventure with no return. By reasoning, patience and dialogue with respect for the inalienable rights of peoples and nations, it is possible to identify and travel the paths of understanding and peace,” the pope added. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait is considered one of the most gravely and patently illegal military acts committed during John Paul II’s reign. The UN Security Council even authorized the use of force to compel Iraqi withdrawal. John Paul II also spoke against the Iraq war of 2003. “War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations,” John Paul II said. Pope Francis’s position against war – all war and any particular war – is nothing if not consistent, in itself and with his predecessors going back at least to Benedict XV. Francis has nevertheless – and understandably – heard contrary views expressed from Catholics in Ukraine. Russia had illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and is now slowly advancing in parts of Ukraine, but is suffering huge casualties, as are the Ukrainians. Last year, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk accused Russia of “diabolical tactics — to destroy not only human life, but also those who serve it.” “Our girls and boys at the front are heroically defending their land and managed not only to stabilize the front, but also to stop the advance of the Russian army,” Shevchuk said. Shevchuk is the religious leader of a nation at war against an aggressive invader, but Francis is the universal pastor. All of this reminds me a little of a grimly insightful exchange I had with a priest in Rome, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks: “[In a hostage situation,] my job as a dispenser of God’s holy mysteries and pastor of his holy people, is to pray and plead for a resolution without bloodshed; the sheriff’s job is to shoot the sonofabitch before he harms my flock.” It goes without saying that Pope Francis isn’t just playing his role as though this were a movie. He also has serious concerns about the shadows being cast by nations in the 21st century, often speaking of a “Third World War played in piecemeal.” He first used the term at a memorial to 100,000 Italian soldiers at Redipuglia cemetery in Northeastern Italy on 2014, and used it frequently since. Only a day ago, I mentioned how Pope Saint John Paul II wrote about how peace with weakness was not real peace in a speech to NATO members in the midst of the Cold War. How could it be Francis seemed to differ from John Paul II when it comes to Russian aggression? Perhaps because they had different experiences of the Cold War. John Paul II had been in Soviet-run Poland, suffering under a Communist regime. Most Americans and Western Europeans saw this as the fight of freedom against dictatorship; more simply put as good versus evil. However, Francis was in Argentina. Like most of South America, it was an anti-Communist dictatorship. Outside of the United States and Western Europe, anti-Communism wasn’t always linked to freedom. In Asia, Latin America, and Africa, nations were used as pawns in the NATO-Communist rivalry and the citizens suffered whichever side their rulers followed. In 2022, Pope Francis indicated he held the same suspicions about Ukraine being a pawn between NATO and Russia. In an interview, the pope said someone told him NATO “are barking at the gates of Russia.” “I am simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys, without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex,” he said in an interview with La Civiltà Cattolica. “Someone may say to me at this point: but you are pro-Putin! No, I am not,” Francis said. Donald Trump is President of the United States now, and he – the leader of Ukraine’s biggest military supplier – says he wants the war to end. Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said Trump believes both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “understand the realities on the ground.” On Thursday of last week, Hegseth said at a NATO meeting that it would be a “cheap political point” to suggest all “negotiating cards are off the table.” “And President Trump as a deal-maker, as a negotiator, understands those dynamics as well,” Hegseth said. It was also confirmed that Trump has spoken to both Putin and Zelenskyy this week. As talk of an end to the conflict increases from quarters – like the United States – with some ability to direct affairs increase in volume and intensity, it begins to appear Pope Francis may get his wish. On Wednesday at the weekly General Audience, Francis again mentioned his hope for an end to the war. “Sisters, brothers,” Francis said, “let us pray for peace. Let us all do our part.” “We are not born to kill, but to help people grow. May we find pathways of peace,” Francis said, mentioning “tormented Ukraine” and “how much it suffers.” Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome

Pope Francis’s views on Ukraine war much like other popes on war through history

Cameroonians ‘electric’ over visit of Pope Leo XVI

Catholics criticize house arrest request for bishop’s killing suspect in Guatemala

Brazil’s Lula defends Pope Leo in message to Catholics after Trump’s criticism

Pope in Cameroon offers lesson on ‘love of neighbor’ in global diplomacy

Trump’s social media attacks have put Leo XIV in the U.S. presidential mix

In Easter letter to cardinals, Leo sets the tone and the agenda

A ‘frank discussion’ is changing the dance card for the US and the Vatican

Were Leo XIV’s remarks at peace vigil meant for Trump?

Trump continues his social media attacks on Pope Leo

Trump says he won’t apologize to Pope Leo and explains his reason for posting much-criticized meme

Many US Catholics are dismayed by Trump’s unprecedented broadside at the first American pope

In Easter letter to cardinals, Leo sets the tone and the agenda

Crux. Anytime. Anywhere.

Trump’s social media attacks have put Leo XIV in the U.S. presidential mix

In Easter letter to cardinals, Leo sets the tone and the agenda

A ‘frank discussion’ is changing the dance card for the US and the Vatican

Were Leo XIV’s remarks at peace vigil meant for Trump?

Cameroonians ‘electric’ over visit of Pope Leo XVI

Catholics criticize house arrest request for bishop’s killing suspect in Guatemala

Brazil’s Lula defends Pope Leo in message to Catholics after Trump’s criticism

Pope in Cameroon offers lesson on ‘love of neighbor’ in global diplomacy

Trump continues his social media attacks on Pope Leo

Trump says he won’t apologize to Pope Leo and explains his reason for posting much-criticized meme

Many US Catholics are dismayed by Trump’s unprecedented broadside at the first American pope

In Easter letter to cardinals, Leo sets the tone and the agenda