Pope Francis was chastised by the envoy of Ukraine to the Holy See on Wednesday for regretting the car bombing that killed the daughter of a Vladmir Putin loyalist.
On August 24, at his general audience, Pope Francis called for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
“I extend an invitation once again for you to beg the Lord for peace on behalf of the cherished Ukrainian people, who have been experiencing the horror of war for the last six months. The Holy Father expressed his hope that decisive action would be taken to end the conflict and prevent a nuclear calamity in Zaporizhzhia.
The pope made the following remarks in reference to the death on August 20 of Darya Dugina, a journalist and political analyst noted for her support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I consider that unfortunate child who was killed in Moscow when a bomb detonated beneath her car seat. The victims of war are the innocent! Let’s reflect on this truth and declare to one another that war is insane.
Aleksandr Dugin, a Russian political theorist who was said to be close to Putin, was the father of Dugina.
Andrii Yurash, who was appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican in April 2022, criticized Pope Francis on Twitter after the pope’s statements.
“Today’s address by the Pope was upsetting and made me reflect on a number of topics, including: how conceivable is it to refer to one of Imperialism’s ideological leaders as an innocent victim? She was murdered by Russians as a holy victim and is now a war shield.
The Pope’s address today disappointed me and got me to thinking about a lot of things, like how you can’t talk about an attacker and a victim, a rapist and a victim, and how you can mention one of imperialism’s idealists as an innocent victim. She was murdered by Russians as a sacred victim and is now depicted on the shield of war (https://twitter.com/GvvM7zJDCa)
— Andrii Yurash, August 24, 202 (@AndriiYurash)
According to CNN, Russia has charged Ukrainian special services with planning the vehicle explosion that murdered Dugina.
The claim was refuted on Monday by Oleksii Danylov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council.
Danylov said, “We had nothing to do with this lady’s murder; this is the work of the Russian secret services.
According to a report from CNA today, the anticipated meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow will not occur as scheduled at an interreligious conference in Kazakhstan in September.
There were rumors that the two leaders may really meet, perhaps in Jerusalem.
The Vatican scrapped arrangements for the meeting months ago, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the director of the Russian Church’s Department for External Church Relations, said RIA-Novosti.
Anthony told RIA-Novosti, “In the spring of this year, to our grave astonishment, the Vatican unilaterally stated publicly that the conference’s preparations had been delayed and that the summit itself would not take place.”
In an interview with Radio Liberty on July 10, Yurash, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican, said that he had been trying to stop the meeting from happening.
“On the fringes of the General Assembly in Kazakhstan in September, the leader of the Holy See discusses a potential meeting with Kirill. However, because it involves a meeting with the devil’s advocate, we diplomats are doing all in our power to stop it from happening. Neither the ecumenical dialogue nor the Apostolic capital will be strengthened by it “It was Yurash.