Pope Francis on March 16 spoke by video conference with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They had previously met in person in Cuba, in 2016. In the call, the two religious leaders pledged their respective commitments to securing peace. In recent weeks, Kirill has previously used religious language to justify his support for Russia's military aggression. However their conversation focused on the war in Ukraine and the role of Christians and their pastors in doing everything possible for peace to prevail. Pope Francis said: "We are pastors of the same Holy People who believe in God, in the Holy Trinity, in the Holy Mother of God: for this we must unite in the effort to help peace, to help those who suffer, to seek ways of peace, to stop the fire. Those who pay the bill for the war are the people, it is the Russian soldiers and it is the people who are bombed and die. The Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus. Wars are always unjust. Because the one who pays is the people of God. Our hearts cannot help but cry in front of the children, the women killed, all the victims of the war. War is never the way. The Spirit that unites us asks us as pastors to help the peoples who suffer from war.” A Vatican communique stated that Francis rejected the justifications for the invasion as a "holy war," saying "today we cannot speak like this.” Particular attention was paid to the humanitarian aspects of the current crisis and the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church to overcome its consequences. The parties stressed the exceptional importance of the ongoing negotiation process, expressing their hope for the soonest achievement of a just peace. While Kirill has since expressed his desire for an end to the conflict, he has refused to denounce Putin or Russia's actions against Ukraine, despite pleas from religious leaders from around the globe. We continue to pray and hope.
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