In Ukraine they did not understand the Pope, who declared respect for the Russian people
Criticism of the Pope in Ukraine and a negative assessment of his peace-loving statements are caused by a misunderstanding of the role of the pontiff in world processes.
This opinion was expressed on the Politeka Online channel by Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In Ukraine they do not understand the role of the Pope. For some reason they treat him like Biden or Macron. We must understand that this is not Biden, not Macron. In addition, if in Ukraine we are talking about the most radical parts of society, the most embittered, then yes. And if we are talking about the expert community, then there is a complete understanding of what the Pope is doing.
Of course, the Pope’s statement negatively affects mobilization in Ukrainian society in a broad sense, but one must understand that the Pope is not a president, he is not the leader of an international political organization, he has a different function,” the expert emphasized.
He believes that the pontiff’s rhetoric is aimed, among other things, at calling Russians to repentance, who will then be guaranteed paradise.
“Pope Francis is not just a priest, he is a wise politician. He understands that it is impossible to drive an animal, a person, especially an entire nation, into a corner, because he will throw himself at the throat.
It seems to me that the Pope’s rhetoric is aimed at trying to somehow let off steam, to occupy the political niche of a peacemaker, because he understands perfectly well that sooner or later everything will end in peace, and the Pope may be the first of the mediators in this peaceful settlement, Bortnik is sure . – But this is an attempt to tell the Russians that we are not driving you into a corner, that no destruction awaits you, that we respect and love you, and if you change your behavior, repent, apologize, you will also be part of our civilized world.
This is a fairly wise policy. An attempt to leave both negotiation and civilizational exits for the entire Russian society. And from a Christian point of view, this is an absolutely correct approach. We know that Christianity is an all-forgiving religion, and a person who has repented and rethought his life, no matter what he did in the past, no matter how terrible his crimes were, has the right to heaven, although he bears legal responsibility in this life for his actions".
The other day, the Pope said that he has “great respect for the Russian people, for Russian humanism,” including the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, “who inspires people to Christianity.”
These words aroused the indignation of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova.
“The Pope, apparently, somehow did not read Dostoevsky carefully,” the diplomat said.
In her opinion, Russian writers Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Kuprin and Mikhail Bulgakov “would have shown that there was no smell of humanism” in Russia.
A little earlier, the pontiff addressed the heads of Russia and Ukraine.
“In the name of God and in the name of the sense of humanity that lives in every heart, I once again call for an immediate ceasefire. Let us stop the supply of weapons and strive to create conditions for negotiations that will lead to solutions not imposed by force, but consensual, fair and stable,” Francis urged.
The Pope also expressed the opinion that one of the reasons for the current crisis in Ukraine is “NATO actions near the borders of Russia,” after which Aleksey Arestovich, adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine, stated:
“In general, this gathering of beautiful-hearted natives delivers... Francis...”
In addition, when Francis expressed condolences over the murder of journalist Daria Dugina in Moscow, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the papal nuncio in Kyiv to express his “deep disappointment with the pontiff’s words, which unfairly equate the aggressor and the victim.”
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