2022: Pope Francis said Ukraine war was ‘perhaps somehow provoked’ by ‘NATO barking at Russia’s gates’ – Ukraine’s Catholic minority expresses hurt over late Pope’s war stance

RIP Pope Francis.

He was a Pope of Peace, sometimes a socialist, a defender against capitalism. He was often sourounded by political controversies. His moral views often did not correspond to the old and new ideological views.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Pope Francis had a clear opinion: Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine was “perhaps somehow provoked” as he recalled a conversation in the run-up to the war in which he was warned Nato was “barking at the gates of Russia”.

Pope Francis did not excuse the use of force. He simply gave an independent opinion about what he learned and understood about the reasons of the Ukrainian war. He said that it is not only Russia to blame. He never changed his opinion.

Still in 2024, Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia. This hopeful wish was rejected by the Western World and, in 2024, Biden’s War escalated and no negotiations happened.

Still in December 2024, Pope Francis called: “They are brothers, cousins. Let them come to an understanding. War is always a defeat. Peace to the whole world”.

A bit earlier, Pope Francis criticised ferociously the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, which passed a law severely restricting the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Ukraine had closed the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Also JD Vance, now the US Vice-President then a Senator, accused  Ukraine of suppressing religious liberties.

Most of Ukrainians are orthodox and now obliged to adhere to a Kiev ordered new Ukrainian Orthodox Church that split from Moscow.

Only 10% of Ukrainians are catholic.  The Ukrainian Catholics feel hurt by the late Pope’s stance on the Ukrainian war. It happens that Ukraine’s Catholics are also very often the most active Ukrainian nationalists.

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, he was warmly welcomed by President Obama as the new Pope with new liberal and progressive, socialist believes. During his term he learned and understood the new liberal/progressive ideologies as not being conform to Christianity, so he started to criticize the relevent leaders, including Obama/Biden. The criticism of Obama/Biden’s War in Ukraine was a repeated one.

President Trump, after getting rid off the Obama/Biden team, has now the possibility to realize Pope Francis’ legacy and to have the “white flag waved” to negotiate the end to Biden’s War between two majorly Orthodox Christian countries of European civilization and with common history.

The Christians of the World shall pray for that next week in London, the leaders of the West and Ukraine agree on Donald Trump’s peace effort.