Pope criticized for praising legacy of Russian tsars.

Pope Francis has been criticized for telling young Russian Catholics to uphold their heritage as "heirs of great Russia" and invoking the legacy of tsars Peter I and Catherine II. Ukraine's Foreign Minister reacted[1] by saying that similar narratives on Russia's imperial legacy are used by Kremlin propaganda to justify its aggression against Ukraine and the killing of thousands of Ukrainians. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself referred[2] to Peter I's imperial holdings when providing reasons for Russia's war of conquest against Ukraine.

The pope's statement also attracted criticism from Estonia's ex-president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who called his words "revolting[3]," and from the Belarusian independent news outlet Nexta[4]. The pope made the speech[5] during a video conference with the Russian Catholic youth in the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria in St.

Petersburg on Aug.

25. "Never forget your heritage. You are the heirs of great Russia: great Russia of saints, rulers, great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire - great, enlightened, (country) of great culture and great humanity," the head of the Catholic Church said as heard[6] in a video recording.

"Never give up this legacy, you are the heirs of the great Mother Russia, go ahead with it. And thank you. Thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russians."

In the rest of Francis's speech published[7] by the Vatican, he also told the Russian youth to be "artisans of peace" and to "sow seeds of reconciliation." Notably, the text released by the Holy See did not contain the controversial references to the Russian tsars. While repeatedly denouncing the Russian invasion in the past and calling for peace, Francis has made several controversial statements regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War. In May last year, he suggested[8] that NATO expansionism may have played a role in provoking Russia into attacking its neighbor.

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[9] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer.

Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ reacted (www.facebook.com)
  2. ^ referred (kyivindependent.com)
  3. ^ revolting (twitter.com)
  4. ^ Nexta (twitter.com)
  5. ^ speech (catholic-russia.ru)
  6. ^ heard (zn.ua)
  7. ^ published (www.vatican.va)
  8. ^ suggested (www.wsj.com)
  9. ^ Zelensky meets Pope Francis' envoy, urges Vatican to support Ukrainian peace formulaDuring his June 6 meeting with a special representative of Pope Francis, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the Holy See to support Ukraine's peace formula, adding that Russia continues committing war crimes in Ukraine, the latest of which was the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblas... (kyivindependent.com)

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