Pope Leo XIV newly appointed pronounced against Russia’s continued war against Ukraine during an interview on May 9.
Speak with the Peruvian media Semanario Expresión,, Pope Leo condemned Russia war Against Ukraine, characterizing it as a “real invasion, of an imperialist nature, where Russia seeks to conquer the territory for reasons of power”.
Pope Leo was appointed earlier this week on May 8, after the death of Pope Francis April 21 at the age of 88. On May 7, the cardinals officially opened the historic conclave to the Vatican to choose the next head of the Catholic Church.
By eliminating the name of the imperialist aspirations of Russia in Ukraine, the comments of the new Pope are deviating from the position of its predecessor on the war.
While Pope Francis was widely considered a reformer who directed the church with compassion and humanity, his heritage in Ukraine is more complex.
Throughout the large -scale invasion of Russia, many Ukrainians visualized Pope Francis’ statements do not clearly attack the responsibility for the war. Its description of Ukrainians and Russians like “brothers“was perceived as painfully out of contact in the middle of the brutal war of Moscow.
In addition, while Pope Francis has repeatedly called for peace, he has also not called Russia as an aggressor or to condemn the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
President Volodymyr Zelensky Recently congratulated the new Pope for his appointment, To say: “Ukraine deeply values the constant position of the Holy See in the maintenance of international law, the condemnation of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the protection of the rights of innocent civilians. “”
As head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo will play a decisive role in the formation of the way the religious institution reacts to the greatest European war since the Second World War.
Most of the Russians “do not care about the war,” said journalist Ekaterina Barabash after having escaped Russia
In early May, film criticism and 64 -year -old journalist Ekaterina Barabash made the headlines when it was revealed that she had succeeded in a daring escape in Russia and asked for political asylum in France. Barabash was subjected to a house arrest in February for positions that she had criticized the Russian war against Ukraine. She was accused of having disseminated “knowingly false” information on the military on her social networks. Kremlin has intensified its repression against dissent
