Pope Francis once again joined those denouncing the Russian regime for the unfolding war in Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin’s forces recently invaded and have been inflicting devastation ever since. According to the Associated Press, on Sunday Francis characterized the “repugnant war” against Ukraine as “cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity” and a “senseless massacre.” The Pope added that “there is no justification for this” — the war so far has included the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and the displacement of millions, many of whom fled the country as refugees — making clear there’s going to be a long, hard road ahead of returning to any sense of security once the war ends. The Pope called for “all actors in the international community” to work on bringing about an end to war, adding:
‘Again this week, missiles, bombs, rained down on the elderly, children and pregnant mothers… And I feel great pain for those who don’t even have the chance to escape… Above all, defenseless life should get respected and protected, not eliminated.’
One sad fact of this war: as Russia faces more resistance, its attacks become more ruthless.
New – Russian forces bombed an art school used as a shelter in Mariupol, according to Mariupol city council. About 400 people were in the building, which was destroyed in the attack.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 20, 2022
Russian leaders have grown only increasingly isolated as the war has continued, but the Russian government is continuing to stand by the violence in Ukraine, the true scope of which it largely refuses to acknowledge — to the point that Russian authorities have imposed jail-terms of up to 15 years for certain instances of spreading so-called fake news about the violence. The continuing atrocities are immense; in one example of many, Russian forces fired on a nursing home in the Luhansk region, killing 56 people. Russian personnel forcibly moved survivors of the attack elsewhere. In another horror out of the besieged city of Mariupol, Russian invaders struck a school where hundreds of people had been sheltering, not long after they struck a theater where hundreds had also been sheltering. The Russian word for “children” was written in large letters on the ground outside of the theater in an attempt to keep invaders from striking it. As of this past Friday, hundreds of people were believed to remain trapped beneath the theater wreckage. In other words: it’s not as though credible sources outside Russia believed it, but the Putin regime’s characterization of the war as a confrontation with armed factions in Ukraine is false. Russians are striking Ukrainian civilians.
Pope Francis denounced Russia’s “repugnant” war in Ukraine as “cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity.”
In some of his strongest words yet since Russia’s invasion, Francis said every day brings more atrocities in what is a “senseless massacre.” https://t.co/880m58CUC2
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 20, 2022
