We Must Not Toy with the Martyrdom of the Ukrainian People: Pope Francis
During a brief conversation with journalists on the plane on his way back from Marseille, Pope Francis answered, among other topics, a question about his and the Holy See’s efforts to find peace in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian people are a martyr nation, and we must not toy with their martyrdom. We must help them in the best possible way to resolve this matter. Pope Francis spoke about this when he answered a question aboard an airplane from Marseille to Rome.
On Saturday, September 23, 2023, the 44th Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis during his pontificate concluded as he arrived in Marseille, where he took part in the last session of the Mediterranean meetings. At around 8:40 PM local time, the plane with the Holy Father on board landed at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport. As is customary, the Pope answered several questions from the journalists who accompanied him.
Spanish journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal, referring to the fact that the Pope also mentioned Ukraine, inquired about the progress of “Cardinal Zuppi’s mission,” adding: “And one more question, maybe a bit harsh: how do you feel on a personal level about the fact that this mission has not yet been able to produce any concrete results? At one of your audiences, you spoke about frustration. Do you feel frustrated?”
“It is true,” the Holy Father replied, “there is some frustration. Because the Secretariat of State is doing everything possible to help in this regard, the ‘Zuppi mission’ is also aimed at this. There is something with children that is going well. But this war, it seems to me, is caused not only by the Russian-Ukrainian problem but also by the selling of weapons, the arms trade.” The Pope noted the recently published information that today, the most profitable investments are in factories that produce weapons, that is, “in factories of death.”
“The Ukrainian people,” the Holy Father added in this context, “are a martyr people who have a history full of martyrdom, a history that evokes pain. It is not the first time they have suffered — they suffered a lot under Stalin. These are martyred people. But we must not play with their martyrdom, and we must help them resolve these matters in the most realistic possible way. In times of war, what is real is what is possible, and we should not be deceived into thinking that tomorrow, two leaders who are at war will sit down to a meal together. But as far as possible, as far as we can reach, we must do everything possible with humility. Now, I have seen that some country is stepping back, not giving arms, and starting a process where the Ukrainian people will certainly be martyred. And this is bad!”
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