Russian invasion of Ukraine has been described as ‘war’ rather that ‘a military operation’, Pope Francis said this while slamming President Vladimir Putin.
Using the Russian invasion of Ukraine as his point of focus, during his Angelus address to the world, the head of the Catholic Church who led this Sunday’s prayer at the Vatican made calls to stop the war and to allow humanitarian corridors to keep people safe.
In his address, the Pope said: ‘Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. This is not just a military operation but a war which is sowing death, destruction and misery.’
In a prayer said for the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis spoke at the Vatican in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, facing thousands of people, with many holding Ukrainian flags or placards with messages of solidarity with the country under attack.
He said of the conflict: ‘True happiness and freedom do not lie in possessing, but in sharing, not taking advantage of others but in loving them, not in the obsession of power, but in the joy of service.
‘We must be vigilant because they often present themselves under an apparent form of good. In fact, the devil, who is cunning, always uses deception, and [he even knows] how to disguise himself with sacred, apparently religious motives.’
The Pope also noted that there are ‘no compromises with evil’, much like there has been little compromise from President Putin on his devastating actions on Ukraine.
‘Let us take time for silence and prayer, during which we can stop and look at what is stirring in our hearts…’ he said.
‘Placing ourselves before the Word of God in prayer, so that a positive fight against the evil that enslaves us, a fight for freedom, may take place within us.’
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