Pope compares war on Ukraine to famine caused by Stalin

 — Nov. 24, 202224 nov. 2022

Francis says Ukraine’s “martyrdom of aggression”, the result of Russia’s invasion, is like Stalin’s early 1930s man-made Terror-Famine known as the “Holodomor genocide”

Pope Francis has drawn a parallel between Russia’s war on Ukraine and the “Holodomor” – the man-made famine that Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin orchestrated in the early 1930s and which led to the death of five million Ukrainians.

The pope made the comparison – the first time he’s ever done so publicly – during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square. He even went so far as to agree that the Holodomor, which means “to kill by starvation”, truly was a “genocide”.

“This Saturday is the anniversary of the terrible Holodomor genocide, the extermination by famine artificially caused by Stalin in 1932-33,” Francis said at the end of the audience. “Let us pray for peace in the world, and for an end to all conflicts, with a special thought for the terrible suffering of the dear and martyred people of Ukraine,” he said just a few moments earlier. “Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for all Ukrainians,” he added, before mentioning “the children, the women and the elderly, the babies who are today suffering the martyrdom of aggression”.

It is also the first time the 85-year-old pope has spoken of a “martyrdom of aggression” in relation to the war that Russia provoked on February 24 by invading its neighbor. The expression marks a further development in the way he’s been speaking about the war. Many Ukrainians have generally been frustrated by what they see as Francis’ reluctance to condemn Russia fully and clearly.

Ukraine has requested the expulsion of a Russian diplomat

In fact, the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See regularly distances itself from the Jesuit pope’s remarks. This was the case, for example, when he expressed admiration for the “great Russian people” and “Russian humanism” on November 5 while flying back to Rome from his trip to Bahrain.

“To realize this Russian humanism, in which the pope believes, it would be enough to visit Ukraine right now and see how 4.5 million people have been deprived of water and electricity and benefit from this ‘humanism’,” Ambassador Andrii Yurash tweeted the day after the pope made the comments. It is understood that his embassy is putting pressure on the Holy See to expel one of the three Russian diplomats that are posted to the Vatican. But, so far, the pope and his aides have rejected that demand.

Posted: Nov. 24, 2022 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=12846
Categories: La CroixIn this article: genocide, Pope Francis, Russia, Ukraine
Transmis : 24 nov. 2022 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=12846
Catégorie : La CroixDans cet article : genocide, Pope Francis, Russia, Ukraine


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