Pope condemns ‘diabolical logic’ of war, but makes no mention of Russia in Ukraine statement

By AP 27 February 2022, 2:27 pm

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Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience at the Paul VI hall on February 23, 2022 in the Vatican. (Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Pope Francis has denounced the “diabolical and perverse logic” of launching a war in Ukraine in his strongest public comments yet.

Francis also calls for humanitarian corridors to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the “tragic” invasion of their homeland.

Francis has refrained from calling out Russia by name as he seeks to mend ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, and he again omitted any reference to Moscow. But he says: “Those who make war forget humanity,” adding that warfare “relies on the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the farthest thing from God’s will.”

Francis repeats his call for the faithful to mark Ash Wednesday this week as a day of fasting and prayer to show solidarity with the “suffering people of Ukraine.”

Earlier today, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople described Russia’s invasion as “beyond every sense of law and morality” and pleaded for an end to the war.

Patriarch Bartholomew is considered the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. In 2019 he granted the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, severing it from the Russian church it had been tied to since 1686.