“When I received lists of names of prisoners, both civilian and military, I sent them to the Russian government, and the response was always very positive,” Pope Francis revealed today in an interview published by the Jesuit newspaper America.
Francis, who has been criticized in the past for alleged ambiguity in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine for not naming Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that when he talks about Ukraine, he’s talking about a “martyr, a martyred people”.
If there is a martyr, there are those who will be martyred. When I talk about Ukraine, I talk about cruelty, because I have a lot of information about the arrival of the troops, ”said the head of the Catholic Church.
“The invader is definitely the Russian state. This is obvious. Sometimes I try not to specify so as not to offend and condemn in general terms, even if it is clear who was convicted. It is not necessary to enter a name and surname. Why didn’t I nominate Putin? Because it was not necessary, it was already known. All He knows my position, with Putin and without Putin, without naming it, “added the Pope.
Francis noted that on the second day of the invasion he went to the Russian embassy, in an unusual gesture for a pope, and claimed that at that time he told the ambassador to tell Putin he was willing to travel, provided he was left with “a small window for negotiation”.
In the interview, he explained that he had spoken three times on the phone with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and that he had made a decision that if he traveled, he would go to Moscow and Kiev, denying that he had given the impression that he was “covering up aggression”, adding that he had received on several occasions delegates from Ukrainian government.
However, he reiterated that “the position of the Holy See is to seek peace and to seek understanding” and that “the diplomacy of the Holy See is moving in this direction and is clearly always open to mediation.”
The Pope also referred to internal issues of the Catholic Church, such as the opening of the priesthood to women, stating that this is a “theological question”, and that opening up to women is not expected, but that cannot be considered “excommunication”.
“The theology of women has not yet been developed, there is only the possibility of an administrative principle,” the Pope said, referring to the role of women.
“Women are mothers and see the mystery of the Church better than we men. That is why women’s advice is important. Women’s decision is better. When women enter politics or administration, they usually do very well. Women, and there are many economists, who rejuvenate the economy in sense,” he said. Building.
When asked about racism within the American Catholic Church, the Pope classified it as an “intolerable sin”, in addition to sexual abuse of minors, which he considered “brutal”.
