Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope’s words of praise for Russian imperial past

BY NICOLE WINFIELD
Updated 8:38 AM EDT, August 29, 2023

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday sought to tamp down an uproar that erupted after Pope Francis praised Russia’s imperialist past during a video conference with Russian Catholic youths, insisting that he never intended to encourage modern-day Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said Francis merely wanted to praise the positive aspects of Russia’s spiritual and cultural history when he exalted Russia’s imperial rulers Peter and Catherine the Great, encouraged young people to remember that past and praised their way of “being Russian.”

Francis “certainly didn’t want to exalt imperialistic logic or government personalities, who were cited to indicate certain historic periods of reference,” Bruni said in a statement.

The Vatican, and before it the Holy See’s embassy in Ukraine, spoke out after Ukraine’s Greek Catholic leader, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, bitterly complained about Francis’ remarks. The Vatican never published the comments, but they were shared on social media following Francis’ video conference with a Catholic youth encounter Friday in St. Petersburg.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pope-russia-ukraine-war-vatican-imperial-b82bfb9185f0fc8062c43927a2b058b0

______________________________________________________________________

Source: Reuters

Kremlin says Pope's comments on Russian history are 'very gratifying'

Reuters
Tue, August 29, 2023 at 5:38 AM EDT·1 min read

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Tuesday described as "very gratifying" comments by Pope Francis urging young Russians to remember their history, saying that the Russian state had a rich legacy and that it was good that the Pope knew Russian history.

Pope Francis has come under criticism for telling Russian youths last week to remember that they are the heirs of past tsars such as Peter the Great, whom President Vladimir Putin has held up as an example to justify Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government said the comments, which Francis made in a live video address to Catholic youths gathered in St. Petersburg, were "deeply regrettable".

While the Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday saying the Pope had no intention of glorifying past Russian imperialism, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised the Pope during a briefing on the same day.

-snip-

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-says-popes-comments-russian-093836258.html

[Deuxcents]

1. Thanks for posting this. I was jaw dropped when I first heard this

Whatever he meant to say is on deaf ears now, especially in Russia.