Pope Francis defended this Thursday that arming Ukraine may be acceptable if “the conditions of morality are met”, but considered, however, that it is necessary to “dialogue” with “everyone”, in a reference to Russia.
The pontiff took aim at the notion of “morality” when asked, on his return from a three-day visit to Kazakhstan, about the need to supply arms to kyiv.
“It is a political decision that can be accepted morally, morally, if the conditions of morality are met,” he stressed during a press conference on board the plane back to Rome.
Francis warned that the decision could “be immoral if it is taken with the intention of provoking more wars or selling more weapons, or getting rid of weapons that are no longer useful for anything.”
“The motivation is what largely qualifies the morality of this act,” he stressed, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Defending oneself is not only lawful, but it is also an expression of love for the country. He who does not defend himself does not love, but he who defends himself loves”, added the leader of the Catholic Church, who took the opportunity to multiply the calls for peace and strongly condemn the arms industry.
Pope Francis stressed, however, the need for dialogue “with everyone”, referring to Russia, a nation with which he has sought to maintain a diplomatic opening since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
“I think it is always difficult to understand the dialogue with the states that are at the origin of the war. It is difficult, but it should not be ruled out. We must give everyone the opportunity to dialogue, ”she insisted.
Discarding dialogue with the aggressor country would close “the only reasonable door to peace,” he recalled.
“Always a step forward, an outstretched hand, always. We are in a world war,” stressed the Argentine, also pointing to the multiple ongoing conflicts, such as in Syria, Mozambique, Eritrea, Ethiopia or Mozambique.
Asked about his upcoming trips, the 85-year-old pope said his knee “hasn’t healed yet” but added that a visit to Bahrain in November was being considered.
The pontiff also mentioned February 2023 as a possible date for a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, planned for July but postponed due to knee problems.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.2 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data from the UN, which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community in general, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political sanctions on Russia. and economic. .
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 5,827 civilian deaths and 8,421 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
