VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 29 (ANSA) The Vatican hit back at criticism from Ukraine this Tuesday (29), denying that Pope Francis praised “imperialist logic” in a video shown to young Catholics in Russia last week have.
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“With the words of greeting that the Pope spontaneously addressed to some young Russian Catholics in recent days, the Pope wanted, as can be seen from the context in which he addressed them, to encourage young people to appreciate the positive aspects of Russia’s great cultural and spiritual heritage preserve and promote.” . . and certainly not to glorify imperialist logic or government figures,” said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
The speech in question was broadcast last Friday (25) during a youth meeting in St. Petersburg. On that occasion, Francis urged those attending the event not to forget that they were “children of the great Russia of saints and kings, of the Russia of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, of the great Russian Empire” and “heirs” of the Great Mother Russia”.
The content of the statement was revealed last Monday (28) by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, who accused the pope of repeating the Kremlin’s “imperialist propaganda”.
According to him, the Russian government is using the alleged “need to save Great Mother Russia” to justify the “murder of thousands of men and women in Ukraine.”
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Francis’ speech, saying he “knows Russian history, which has very deep roots.”
The head of the Catholic Church is trying to position himself as a mediator in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, but has so far found no opportunities for dialogue.