Before his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the High Priest spoke about Moscow’s annexations of Ukrainian lands and deplored “new acts contrary to the principles of international law.”
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Published on 2/10/2022 5:34 PM Updated on 2/10/2022 8:41 PM
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Pope Francis “begged” Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, October 2, to “stop” the “spiral of violence” in Ukraine. It is the first time since the conflict began on February 24 that he has directly chosen the Russian president. Before his Angelus prayer on St. Peter’s Square, the Pope spoke for the first time about the annexations of Ukrainian territories by Moscow and regretted “new acts contrary to international law”.
“I deeply regret the serious situation that has arisen over the past few days (…) It increases the risk of nuclear escalation to the point where fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences arise on a global scale.”
Pope Francis
St. Peter’s Square
He also made “an equally confident appeal to the President of Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelensky] to be open to serious proposals for peace.” “It is staggering that the world, through names like Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izium, Zaporizhya and other places that have become indescribable places of pain and fear, learn about geography of Ukraine,” he added.