Pope Francis Laments War in Ukraine Without Taking Sides – WSJ

ROME Pope Francis celebrated a liturgy for peace between Russia and Ukraine, lamenting the vicious war that has overtaken so many people and caused suffering to all…this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, in his most high-profile gesture yet to deplore the conflict while maintaining his neutrality.

The ceremony on Friday in St. Peter s Basilica, which the pope asked Catholic bishops and their flocks around the world to join in through prayer, was marked by tension between his sympathy for what he called our defenseless Ukrainian brothers and sisters under bombardment and his continuing refusal to explicitly name Russia as the aggressor.

Pope Francis neutrality has its roots in Vatican tradition but also reflects his particular agenda, which includes better relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and a wariness of identifying the Vatican with U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. and its European allies are supporting Ukraine s defense against Russia s invasion with military aid and economic sanctions on Russia.

The Vatican didn t reply to a request for comment.

via www.wsj.com

This is a mistake. Pretty clearly, the Russians are engaging in an unjust war of aggression against Ukraine, in a clear violation of the Catholic doctrine of just wars. Also, it will alienate many Catholics who side for good reasons with the Ukrainians and against Putin. My conspiracy theory is that Pope Francis is not condemning Putin and the Russian invasion because of pressure from the Communist Chinese and the sums of money I speculate they are giving the Vatican to keep it financially afloat. I have no evidence for this, but what else explains the Vatican’s otherwise baffling policies towards the PRC?