The Archbishop of Ukraine said that the Pope wants Russia to destroy, not negotiate | Tech Reddy

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has continued to invite Russian and Ukrainian leaders to talk about ending the war, but the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church told him that Russia only wants to destroy Ukraine.

Ukrainian Archbishop of Kyiv-Khalich Sviatoslav Shevchuk met with Pope Francis on November 7 in the Vatican. The two met face-to-face for the first time since Russia launched the war in late February, but they spoke frequently by phone.

Archbishop Shevchuk handed over to the Pope “a fragment of a Russian mine that destroyed the facade of the building of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Irpin, near Kyiv, in March,” the archbishop’s office said. “This is a very symbolic gift, not only because Irpin was one of the first “martyr cities” to suffer from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but also because similar parts of mines were taken from the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, civilians and children. a visible sign of the destruction and death that war brings every day.’

Pope Francis, who returned to the Vatican from Bahrain on November 6, told reporters accompanying him that the Vatican is “unceasingly attentive” to what is happening in Ukraine and that the Secretariat of State continues to do what is possible and work behind the scenes. to help organize the exchange of prisoners.

The Pope also told reporters that he believes the brutal attacks on Ukraine and its citizens are the work of mercenaries, not Russians, who are a “great nation” and have a strong “humanism.”

In a meeting with Archbishop Shevchuk the next day, Pope Francis reiterated the Holy See’s pledge to find a way to end the war and achieve a “just peace,” the archbishop’s office said.

“The war in Ukraine is a colonial war, and the peace proposals coming from Russia are colonial pacification proposals,” the archbishop told the pope, according to his office. “These proposals include the denial of the existence of the Ukrainian nation, its history, culture, and even the church. This is a denial of the right to existence of the Ukrainian state, which is recognized by the international community with its independence and territorial integrity.

Still, the archbishop thanked the pope for all his prayers and efforts “to end the war and mediate peace, release hostages and prisoners, and organize the universal solidarity of the Catholic Church on behalf of the suffering Ukrainian people.”