Pope Francis welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the entrance to the formal meeting rooms at the back of the audience hall at the Vatican May 13, 2023. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Bonn (KNA) A spokesperson for the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference has described Pope Francis’ recent statements on peace negotiations in Ukraine as unfortunate. The German bishops had made it clear in their peace statement published in February that Ukraine would ultimately have to decide when the time had come for peace negotiations, explained bishops’ spokesman Matthias Kopp on Monday. “The fact that Pope Francis did not address the points mentioned here in his interview has caused irritation among many observers, which we can understand.”
In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, the Pope had urged Ukraine to “have the courage to raise the white flag” and to negotiate with international mediation. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni later explained that the Pope had “above all wanted to call for a ceasefire and revitalise the courage to negotiate”.
It would be good if the Vatican communicated a substantive clarification of its position on issues such as calls for negotiations and the conditions for an end to the war, said bishop spokesman Kopp. “Nevertheless, it remains a matter of course for us and has been proven many times over that the Pope – just like the German Bishops’ Conference – is in favour of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”