Pope's comments: is any peace better than war?
Pope Francis has called on Ukraine to raise the "white flag" and show willingness to negotiate with Russia to end the war. "Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse," he told Swiss broadcaster RSI. What some commentators see as a long overdue vote for peace others condemn as completely misguided.
He doesn't know what he's talking about
Journalist Mykhailo Tkach criticises the Pope on Facebook :
“Many of the public figures who make waves with their statements on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine have one problem in common: they don't know what Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine means. So they don't know what they're talking about. ... Of course the pope can't afford to call on the West to supply Ukraine with enough weapons to prevent the deaths of more Ukrainians. But there is nothing to stop the dignitary from appealing to the murderers instead of those who are being killed.”
The end of a homogenised world view
At last a dissenting voice, columnist Domenico Quirico rejoices in La Stampa:
“Only the Pope could have the courage to do this. ... To dare say the unsayable. ... This is prophetic virtue, the sacred scandal of truth. For two years we have listened without asking a single question and have remained largely inactive, superficial, caught up in the confusion of things. ... The conflict raged on, the dead stared up at the sky streaked with clamorous missiles. As for the war in Ukraine, we lived under the suffocating dominance of a homogenised explanation of the world.”
Counterproductive comments
It is not the Ukrainians but the Russians who have the power to end this war, The Spectator admonishes:
“Francis was wrong to suggest that the onus was on the Ukrainians to give up on their defence and not on the Kremlin to cease and desist their aggression. ... Blessed are the peacemakers. But Pope Francis was addressing the wrong side. It's Putin who can end this war tomorrow by coming to the negotiating table, not Zelensky. And by framing the only end to the conflict as a Ukrainian surrender, the Pope has instead likely prolonged the conflict rather than helped to end it.”
Real peace would be a dream come true
Francis has addressed the wrong audience, the Kleine Zeitung agrees:
“In reality, nothing has changed in the starting situation for two years: Moscow can end this war at any time. The Ukrainians, whose territory has been invaded by the Russian army, can't. Except under the assumption that what prevails in the territories occupied by Russia is defined as peace: rapes, executions, thousands of children abducted, re-education. This cannot be what Francis meant by the 'white flag'. A real peace that guarantees security for the people would be a dream come true. But the proposals on how to get there and guarantee this security are limited.”
In contradiction to Catholic teachings
Jutarnji list is disappointed with the Pope's position:
“Not every peace is a good peace. Catholicism teaches that only justice can represent a true, equitable and lasting peace. 'Peace is an act of justice', said the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. ... Jorge Bergoglio cannot shed his skin. ... Francis has done a lot of good over the course of his pontificate, but as far as the Russian aggression in Ukraine is concerned his positions are disappointing. If you listen to what he says about Ukraine, we in Croatia can be glad that John Paul II was pope in the 1990s when our independence was at stake.”
Waving the white flag does not spell doom
Writing on Facebook, journalist Alexander Minkin defends the pope against misinterpretations:
“The Pope's words about the white flag were immediately interpreted as a call for Ukraine's surrender. This is an ignorant and stupid interpretation. The white flag is internationally recognised as a request or demand for a ceasefire. It is a sign of a ceasefire or an offer of negotiations. ... Negotiations do not mean surrender. ... And 'surrender' is a terrible word, but it is not the same as doom. That is simply not fair. Capitulation is a tragedy, without doubt. But not a fatal one.”