Pope Francis They have positions against Russia and does not hide them. After returning from a trip to Mongolia on Monday, when asked about his recent statements about Russian imperialism that have offended the Ukrainian government, “Russian culture has an extraordinary beauty and depth and should not be erased because of political problems.” said. In line with this, the Catholic hierarchy argued that when it said “Russian heritage” it meant “transmission of Russian culture”. “Consider the field of literaturemusic, even in writers like (according to the author Fiodor) Dostoevskywho speaks of mature humanism,” he argued.
Even so, he conceded that his quoted statement was perhaps “not so lucky.” great russiastill did it”culturally, not geographically.. In any case, after quoting Peter the Great or Catherine of Russia, “they will have to talk about it,” he said. historians”, He claimed. In his “dialogue with the young Russians” he wanted to convey the message that he “always” repeated, namely that they “claim their heritage”. I say the same thing everywhere, the necessity of dialogue. That was the message between grandparents and grandchildren.”
After this speech, Francisco He rejected imperialism those who “try to impose their own ideology”. “When culture is distilled into ideology, this poison”added. “An ideology is not capable of incarnating in the people, it is just an idea. When the ideology gets stronger and becomes political, it often becomes incapable of dialogue, becomes ideological. dictatorship. This reinforces imperialisms with an ideology,” he said.
After intense criticism
Francisco spoke like this after some of his earlier statements. harshly criticized Various representatives of the Ukrainian Government, even Lithuania, decided to summon the nuncio (Vatican ambassador) in the country to ask for clarification on his remarks. Even Oleg Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said Francis’ language was “very unfortunate”. With these statements, the Pope unwittingly “aggressive imperialism And “anti-human ideology This statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin was also criticized by another senior adviser to the Ukrainian government, Mikhailo Podoliak.
In this context, the Pope also took advantage of his return to Rome, where the Vatican had not yet maintained official diplomatic relations and to send a new signal of détente to China. flew during the transfer to Mongolia. “Relationships Chinese They are very respectful, very respectful. I personally great admiration For the Chinese people,” he said. In this sense, “citizens should not think that the Church does not accept its own culture or that it is dependent on another foreign power.”
As for the next Synod, the great meeting where he is expected to speak on very sensitive issues within the Catholic Church. The role of women And homosexuality“There will be a dialogue between the baptized, between members of the Church, on the life of the Church, the dialogue with the world, the issues that affect humanity today.” “It won’t be a tell-all TV show. No. It’s a religious exchange moment.”