Gee, how about "Putin should have the courage to withdraw his invading troops from Ukraine and abandon his genocidal imperial pursuits" instead?
It's really hard to imagine Pope John Paul II saying something this ignorant and devoid of common sense after experiencing the Soviet occupation of his native Poland for decades.
No, Ukraine is not interested in negotiating an end to their existence, thanks for nothing, your Holiness.
Source: The Guardian
Pope Francis has been criticised after saying Ukraine should have the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
In an interview broadcast on Saturday by Swiss television, but which the Vatican said was conducted in February, the pontiff urged parties in the Ukraine war to “have the courage to negotiate”, and do so “before things get worse”.
The 87-year-old pope was asked by the public broadcaster RTS about a debate within Ukraine on whether to surrender to Russia’s invasion. “I believe that the strongest are those who see the situation, think about the people, and have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate,” he said. “That word negotiate is a brave word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not working out, to have the courage to negotiate.”
As you might imagine, the Pope's inflammatory comments were not well-received, especially by Ukrainians who see Russia's war as an attempt at their extinction. The Vatican spokesman tried to walk back the Pope's comments as best he could, but it was too late as the damage had already been done.
The Vatican’s director of communications, Matteo Bruni, issued a statement seeking to clarify the pope’s words. He said Francis had used the term white flag “to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation”. He repeated the pontiff’s call for a “diplomatic solution in search of a just and lasting peace” in what Francis called the “martyred” Ukraine.
Sure, buddy.
Pope Francis and Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Another Pope, a Polish one, had more experience with the Russians and how they operate.
But then again, the Vatican's record has not always been the best, has it?
