War in Ukraine: religious rhetoric is blasphemous
The tribal notion of religion and friendship used by political leaders is the opposite of the Gospel command to love, even one's enemies
| Na stronie od 01/04/2022
Vladimir Putin during the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, March 18, 2022. (Photo by VLADIMIR ASTAPKOVICH / SPUTNIK/EPA)
Source: Le Croix
By Antonio Spadaro SJ | Vatican City
Vladimir Putin has made an appeal to history in the quagmire of an invasion that Pope Francis has described as cruel, senseless, barbaric and sacrilegious. It's a war that Putin could lose exactly one day after he wins it, if he has to face an embarrassing "aftermath" – an unacceptable occupation.
Yet his imperialist narrative is well fed by people like Alexandr Dugin, the man who is dubbed Putin's ideologue.
"Russia in Ukraine will restore order, justice, prosperity and decent standards of life. Russia brings with it freedom," Dugin wrote on his Facebook page in English (!).
"Russia is the only Slavic state that was able to become a World Empire, that is -- an absolutely sovereign power," he wrote. "To build the World Empire, it is our task, we do know how to do it. That is why we are Rome. And those who oppose us -- are Carthage."
Dugin's objective is to apocalyptically overthrow "the omnipotence of the Harlot of Babylon". "We can never ever quit the patterns of sacred history," he concluded, attributing traits of sacredness to the construction of the Russian Empire. A new Holy Roman Empire?