Pope Francis’ Ukraine Comments Spark Furious Backlash

Remarks by Pope Francis appearing to suggest Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” in its war against Russia have sparked waves of criticism, prompting the Vatican to quickly clarify the comments from the leader of the Catholic church.

“I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said in an interview recorded in February with RSI, a Swiss broadcaster. Part of the interview was published on Saturday, and the interviewer used the term, “white flag,” in a question put to the Catholic leader.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not negotiate with Moscow, and will not accept Russia holding any territory recognized by the international community as Ukrainian. Late last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara was “ready to host a peace summit that Russia will attend too,” following a meeting with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian leader said he “does not see a place for Russia” at peace talks, according to media reports.

Francis’ comments come as aid from Kyiv’s largest backer, the U.S., remains in doubt, and Ukraine stares down Russian advances at several points along the front line.

“Pope Francis, how about this instead: ‘Putin should have the courage to withdraw his invading troops from Ukraine and abandon his genocidal imperial pursuits,'” wrote Julia Davis, a journalist who frequently covers Russia and the war in Ukraine.

“It does seem strange that the pope doesn’t urge to defend Ukraine, doesn’t condemn Russia as an aggressor who killed tens of thousands of people, doesn’t urge Putin to stop, but calls on Ukraine to raise the white flag instead,” said Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

“How about the Pope use his influence to call on Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine?” added a U.S.-based Republican group campaigning against former President Donald Trump.

“When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, it is necessary to have the courage to negotiate,” the pope said in remarks from the interview, translated by the Holy See’s official news outlet.

“Negotiations are never a surrender,” he said later in the interview, not directly referring to Ukraine. “It is the courage not to carry a country to suicide.”

Peace talks should be helped along by “international powers,” the Vatican leader said.

Matteo Bruni, a spokesperson for the Vatican, said on Saturday that the pope was referring to “ceasefire and negotiation” when he adopted the term put forward by the interviewer. Francis used the image of a white flag “to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation,” Bruni said.

The pope has consistently petitioned for peace in Ukraine, and has put himself forward as a potential mediator. But the Catholic leader has fielded criticism from Ukrainian voices at several points since Moscow’s invasion of the country in February 2022.

The Holy See has been contacted for comment via email.