In an interview with Swiss television Pope Francis said: "When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate." Without naming the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine, he added that without negotiations the situation will only get worse, which is why we should not be ashamed of negotiations.
Asked to comment on appeals that Ukraine should muster the courage to recognize capitulation, "to raise the white flag," which others would see as giving legitimacy to the stronger, Russian side, the pope replied: "The question is from which angle one looks at it." But I think that the stronger is the one who recognizes the situation, who thinks about the people, who has the courage of the white flag, the courage to negotiate".
For many, this answer was scandalous. So the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Catholic Poland, Radoslav Sikorski, wrote angrily on Platform X: "How about asking Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine for the sake of balance?" Then there would be peace immediately, without any negotiations".
And the German ambassador to the Vatican, Berhard Koch, also immediately resignedly wrote on X: "Russia is an aggressor and violates international law!", and that the German Federal Government is calling on the Russian leadership to stop the war.
Discussion in Germany
The German head of diplomacy, Analena Berbock, also criticized the Pope's statements on the public service ARD, especially the part that refers to "courage for the white flag", that is, Francis' appeal for peace negotiations in order to save Ukraine from "suicide". reports Deutsche Welle (DW).
"I don't understand it in these times," said Burbock and added that perhaps those who are making demands for peace negotiations should go to Ukraine to see firsthand what is happening there.
The federal government in Berlin, continued the German minister, is trying "every day to end this terrible drama, and every day we see even worse things happening."
There is also support for the Pope.
Criticism of the Pope's words is mainly heard from Germany. But there are also those who supported the pope. Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmar from the ranks of the Christian Democrats said:
"Pope Francis is a prudent man. I support his call for 'courage to negotiate'. It is clear that Ukraine must be supported and that Russia is the aggressor in this war. However, we must do more to stop dying in war."
Sarah Wagenknecht, head of the new left-wing party "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance", says the same thing, who called the Pope's invitation "courageous and smart". "Unlike warmongers from the ranks of the Christian Democrats, Greens and Liberals, who want to make our country a direct party to the war by supplying Taurus cruise missiles, Pope Francis takes the Christian message of peace seriously," she said.
Angry reactions from Ukraine
The term "white flag" used by the Pope in Ukraine was understood as a direct demand for capitulation.
President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video message with English subtitles, in which he criticized the Pope. In that message, he mentioned the clerics fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian army, who, as he said, concretely help and provide support at the front.
Zelensky said that the church is for the people, but not the church that is two and a half thousand kilometers away and that "virtually" mediates between those who live and those who want to destroy, the Ukrainian president added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also spoke. "Our flag is yellow and blue." It is the flag with which we live, die and with which we will persevere. We will never raise another flag," Kuleba wrote on Xu.
He thanked the Pope for his prayers during the two war years, and invited him to visit Ukraine.
Damage control
The Vatican, meanwhile, is working on damage control, and is trying to put the Pope's statements into context. The Pope's spokesman, Matteo Bruni, denied interpretations according to which the Pope is calling on Ukraine to capitulate in that interview.
According to Bruni, he "first of all wanted to call for a truce and revive the courage to conduct negotiations."
In an interview with the Pope, conducted by the Swiss journalist Lorenzo Bucellia at the beginning of February, the head of the Catholic Church also spoke about the war in the Middle East.
When asked if he offered himself as a mediator in that conflict, Franja said: "I am here, quite simply." I sent a letter to the Jews in Israel, so that they would think about this situation. Negotiations are never capitulation. It is the courage not to lead the country to suicide."
