VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis’ comments on the death of Darya Dugina, a 29-year-old commentator with a nationalist Russian TV channel, were meant to defend life and weren’t a political affirmation, the Vatican said.
“It have to be reiterated that the Holy Father’s words on this tragic issue ought to be read as a voice raised in defense of human life and the values attached to it, and never as a stance on political positions,” the Vatican said in a press release published Aug. 30.
“As for the large-scale war in Ukraine initiated by the Russian Federation, Pope Francis’ interventions are clear and unequivocal in condemning it as morally unjust, unacceptable, barbaric, senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious,” the Vatican added.
The pope’s statements “are mostly geared toward inviting pastors and the faithful to prayer, and all people of fine will to solidarity and efforts to rebuild peace.”
The Vatican said the pope’s quite a few statements calling for an end to the war in Ukraine “are mostly geared toward inviting pastors and the faithful to prayer, and all people of fine will to solidarity and efforts to rebuild peace.”
Nevertheless, the Vatican said that although Pope Francis’ words are supposed to promote peace, “public discussions have arisen in regards to the political significance attached to such interventions.”
At the tip of his general audience talk within the Paul VI hall on the Vatican Aug. 24, Pope Francis repeated his calls for peace and spoke of how so many individuals were affected by war.
After the Vatican’s affirmation of Russia’s aggression, “no person within the Holy See and world wide can have any doubts about who initiated this terrible war.”
For example, the pope spoke of “that poor girl flown into the air due to a bomb under her automobile seat in Moscow. The innocent pay for war. The innocent.”
While the pope didn’t discover the person by name, Vatican News confirmed the pope was referring to the Aug. 20 killing of Dugina. She served as press secretary for her father, Alexander Dugin—an anti-communist, ultranationalist philosopher calling for Russia to reclaim its former territories.
The pope’s comments on Dugina’s death drew criticism from Ukrainian officials, including Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who summoned Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, to specific his disappointment.
“I’m really pleased that the Holy See reacted on Ukraine’s position.”
In an Aug. 25 briefing, Kuleba told journalists that summoning a nuncio to the ministry was unprecedented.
“I’ll say frankly that the Ukrainian heart is torn by the pope’s words. It was unfair,” Kuleba added.
Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, told Catholic News Service Aug. 30 that he was pleased that the Vatican’s statement was “not only a general statement” but “a concrete answer to a concrete query.”
The statement, he added, was clear in saying that each countries are usually not equals within the conflict “because Ukraine is defending all of its territory and is doing the whole lot possible to free already-occupied territories.”
“I’m really pleased that the Holy See reacted on Ukraine’s position” regarding the pope’s comments, Yurash told CNS. “Surely, we’ll inform our government as quickly as possible (in regards to the Vatican’s statement), and I hope the federal government’s response may even be very quick.”
He also said that after the Vatican’s affirmation of Russia’s aggression, “no person within the Holy See and world wide can have any doubts about who initiated this terrible war.”
Yurash told CNS that although there are not any updates regarding a possible papal visit to Kyiv, he hoped that after today’s statement, those responsible of approving the visit “could make a positive and quick response.”
