Vatican defends pope's praise of Russian empire after fury in Ukraine
www.nbcnews.com
"Don’t forget your heritage," Pope Francis urged an audience of young Russian Catholics on Friday, in comments that sparked anger in Kyiv and delight from the Kremlin.

The Vatican sought to defend Pope Francis on Tuesday after he sparked fury in Ukraine by praising Russia’s imperial rulers — a history President Vladimir Putin has invoked to justify his ongoing war.

The Kremlin delighted in the controversy, which stemmed from comments the pontiff made to a group of young Russian Catholics urging them to see themselves as the heirs of a “great” empire.

“Don’t forget your heritage. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire — educated, great culture and great humanity,” he told them in St. Petersburg by live video Friday.

  • Akasazh@feddit.nlEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    evern then only in the form of one Encyclica by the Pope mostly denouncing the loss of adherence to Catholic/Christian Dogma in Germany and only in one part denouncing the Nazi Race Theory.

    Which is more than the current pope has done regarding the Ukrainian invasion, which was my general point.

    Aside from that, there was only resistance by singular priests

    This is underselling it a bit, there was quite a lot resistance from priests to the episcopal level (The Netherlands, Vichy France)

    I don’t think our opinions differ too widely. My point is that the current pope could certainly do better, even compared to the low point set by Pius XII.