ROME, Italy — Pope Francis condemned the “barbarism” of Russia’s war on Ukraine Sunday as “unacceptable armed aggression” and a “massacre.”
This weekend, Mariupol “has become a city martyred by the ruinous war that is devastating Ukraine,” the pontiff told crowds gathered for his weekly Angelus address in the Vatican, in reference to a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov targeted for repeated strikes by the Russian military.
“Faced with the barbarism of the killing of children, and of innocent and defenceless citizens, there are no strategic reasons that hold up,” the pope insisted. “The only thing to be done is to cease the unacceptable armed aggression before the city is reduced to a cemetery.”
An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian’s army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“With an aching heart I add my voice to that of the common people, who implore the end of the war,” he continued. “In the name of God, listen to the cry of those who suffer, and put an end to the bombings and the attacks!”
Women and children sit on the floor of a corridor in a hospital in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine Friday, March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“Let there be real and decisive focus on the negotiations and let the humanitarian corridors be effective and safe. In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre!” he urged.
The pope also urged “the welcoming of the many refugees, in whom Christ is present,” while also expressing thanks for “the great network of solidarity that has formed.”
“I ask all diocesan and religious communities to increase their moments of prayer for peace,” Francis concluded. “God is only the God of peace, he is not the God of war, and those who support violence profane his name.”
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