War in Ukraine: in Malta, the pope takes another step in condemning Russia
The possibility of a trip to Kyiv was "on the table".
04/04/2022 | Na stronie od 05/04/2022
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Granaries Square in Floriana, Malta, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (Photo by ANDREW MEDICHINI /AP)
Source: La Croix
By Loup Besmond de Senneville | Malta
Visiting the smallest country in the European Union, and referring several times to the war on the Old Continent, Francis condemned "the infantile and destructive aggression that threatens us". The pope said that the possibility of a trip to Kyiv was "on the table".
On the ridgeline from where he has observed the Ukrainian crisis for several weeks, the pope took another step on Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 in Malta.
And he did this as soon as he arrived on the island, at the very beginning of his 36-hour journey.
In a speech to the Maltese authorities, Francis condemned "some potentate" who "sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts".
The thinly veiled criticism of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was hidden behind a general formulation and a condemnation -- traditional for Francis -- of all nationalism, but it is there.
More: La Croix