Pope Francis voiced concern over a recent Russian troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and called for efforts to ease tensions in the 7-year conflict.
Russia
Syria’s Assad Says Pope Francis Has ‘Incomplete’ Picture of the War
In a new interview, Syrian President Bashar al Assad responded publicly to a letter he received from Pope Francis over the summer voicing concern about civilian casualties in the country’s ongoing civil war.
Let’s Get Real About What Is the Threat from Russia
With all the phony news about Russia being broadcast, it would be good to remember that concerns for that Asian country have been going on for years.
Pope Suggests Peace Plan to Putin
When Pope Francis met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican June 10, the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine was the principal topic of their conversation.
Ukrainian Archbishop Wants Pope to Visit
The archbishop told journalists that such a visit would “bring peace to that part of Eastern Europe soaked with the blood of so many martyrs for the unity of the church.”
Kowtowing to Moscow Is Bad Ecumenism
In his work for Christian unity, St. John Paul II often expressed the hope that Christianity in its third millennium might “breathe again” with its “two lungs:” West and East, Latin and Byzantine. It was a noble aspiration. And when he first visited Orthodoxy’s ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople in 1979, perhaps the successor of Peter […]
Complex Issues Await Pope in Turkey
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Almost every papal trip abroad is a complex mix of the religious and political, and that will be especially true of Pope Francis’ Nov. 28-30 visit to Turkey. Given the country’s crucial geographic position straddling Europe and Asia, its historic importance for both Christianity and Islam and the wars now raging […]
Pope Encourages New Idealism for Europe
By Cindy Wooden STRASBOURG, France (CNS) – The project of European unity and cooperation, ensuring peace on the continent and helping others find peace as well, requires a real commitment to dialogue and respect for others, Pope Francis said. While the pope did not specifically mention the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, both members […]
Faith Groups Joined Climate Change March
Myriad Catholic groups joined a singing, chanting sea of people who streamed along Manhattan’s West Side Sept. 21 to urge global action on climate change. Organizers of the People’s Climate March estimated nearly 400,000 men, women and children rallied to the cause.
Pope Prays for Ukraine Peace Amid Crisis
Pope Francis lamented “tension and conflict” in Ukraine and prayed for “peace and tranquility” there on the country’s Independence Day.