Pope Leo XIV launches furious attack on Vladimir Putin over Ukraine – ‘Lives shattered’ | World | News
The pope condemned the “sharp intensification” of the war in Ukraine and told his weekly Vatican audience that he wanted to express his closeness to the civilians killed in recent attacks.
“I follow the war in Ukraine with concern,” said Leo XIV, the first US-born pope. “War does not solve problems, on the contrary, it aggravates them. It does not provide security, it increases pain and hatred.”
“Where missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles fall, hopes also fall, houses and places of worship are destroyed, innocent lives are shattered.”
Pope Leo XIV had previously discussed Russia’s increasing attacks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call in April, discussed peace talks and Kiev’s ceasefire proposal, and also offered to host negotiations at the Vatican.
Last month, the Pope also entered into a war of words with US President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump claimed in an op-ed posted on social media that the Pope was “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” His message in full was: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America is attacking Venezuela, which is sending massive amounts of drugs to the United States and, worse, emptying its prisons into our country, including murderers, drug dealers, and murderers.”
Following Mr. Trump’s speech at an evening peace vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday, the Pope made a direct appeal to world leaders to return to talks in Iran. “Enough worshiping yourself and money! Showing power is enough! Enough war! Real power emerges in serving life,” he said.
Although the Iran-US conflict was not specifically mentioned, these remarks came while a series of negotiations were taking place between the two countries in Pakistan at the time.
Pope Leo also warned against what he called “the illusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and becomes increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
Pope Leo, who started his visit to Africa at that time, responded to Mr. Trump and said, “I am not afraid of the Trump administration. I am talking about the Bible and therefore I will continue to speak loudly against the war. I have no intention of getting into an argument with him.”
