Pope Francis celebrates the Urbi et Orbi in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, 2023. In his annual message to the world, the Pope deplored the weapons industry as it fuels wars while calling for peace between the Palestinians and Israel and the continuing conflict in Ukraine. File Photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI |
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March 10 (UPI) -- The Vatican has responded after politicians and religious leaders reacted with incredulity after Pope Francis indicated during an interview with a Swiss broadcaster that Ukraine should surrender to Russia to end the war.
Francis recorded a full interview Lorenzo Buccella of the Radio Télévision Suisse show "Cliché" in early February that will air on March 20. In a portion of the interview released Saturday, Buccella asked him about calls whether Ukraine should have the courage to wave the "white flag."
"I believe that the stronger one is the one who sees the situation, who thinks of the people, who has the courage of the white flag, to negotiate. And today, negotiations are possible with the help of international powers," Francis said, noting that Turkey has offered to mediate an end to the war.
The Vatican was forced to clarify the pope's remarks after backlash started rolling in, with Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni pointing to the fact that the language of the "white flag" -- the universal symbol of surrender used by Francis -- had been first used by Buccella.
"The pope uses the term white flag, and responds by picking up the image proposed by the interviewer, to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation," Bruni said. "Elsewhere in the interview, speaking of another situation of conflict, but referring to every situation of war, the Pope clearly stated: 'Negotiations are never a surrender.'"
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs was among those who had expressed their criticism of Francis's language choice.
"My Sunday morning take: One must not capitulate in face of evil, one must fight it and defeat it, so that the evil raises the white flag and capitulates," Rinkēvičs said.
Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church, met with the Ukrainian community in New York City on Saturday where he stressed that "Ukraine is wounded, not conquered."
"Ukraine is exhausted, but it stands and perseveres! Believe me, no one even thinks of surrendering, even where hostilities are taking place today," he said.
Francis has been supportive of Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022, and in his Angelus prayer on Sunday, the pope expressed concern and sorrow for the "grave crisis" afflicting Haiti amid a new escalation in the ongoing violence and political turmoil gripping the country since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
