Pope Francis calls wars like Russia-Ukraine war a 'crime against God and humanity'

The head of the Catholic church, Vatican’s Pope Francis has called the wars like the Russia-Ukraine war a “Crime against God and Humanity”. In the past, the Pope has held a very strong stance against the war that erupted between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. Sometimes those stances have also attracted severe criticism, especially from Moscow. In his staunch criticism, the sovereign of the Vatican called out the “indiscriminate destruction” that the war has caused in the civilian areas.  

According to Sky News, the Pope made these remarks on Monday, January 9, as he gave his annual speech to the Vatican diplomats. In his famous annual speech, the Pope gives his overview on the current world situation. The address is popularly known as the “state of the world address”. The Vatican sovereign has been very vocal about the war. Weeks after Russia commenced its invasion of the Ukrainian territories, the Pope called out Russia's President Vladimir Putin, urging them to “stop this massacre” in the “name of god”. 

Pope's past instance of pointing out minority groups amid the Russia-Ukraine war

In November, the head of the catholic church came under fire over his remarks about the Russia-Ukraine war. In an interview with an American magazine Jesuit,  Pope Francis was questioned about his apparent reluctance to directly condemn Moscow for the war. After being questioned on it several times, the Pope replied, “Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats, and so on.” While the Chechens are an ethnic group originating from the southwest region of Russia, the Buryats are a Mongolian ethnic group from the eastern region of Siberia. 

The November remarks from the Pope were heavily criticised by the Kremlin. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the comments from the Vatican head. She said, “We are one family with Buryats, Chechens, and other representatives of our multinational and multi-confessional country.” She then went on to add, “This is no longer Russophobia, it's a perversion on a level I can't even name.” While the Pope also alluded to the crisis in the middle east, in his 2023 “state of the world address”, it was the mention of the Russia-Ukraine war which gained maximum eyeballs.

Image: AP