ROME – Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin has defended Pope Francis’s recent remarks suggesting that Ukraine step back and consider opening negotiations to end its ongoing war with Russia.<br><br>The Pope’s comments received a significant amount of <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/ukrainian-groups-criticise-popes-comments-about-negotiations-to-end-war/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">backlash</mark></a>, especially his comment about “the courage of the white flag”. Speaking to Italian journalist Gian Guido Vecchi in an interview published in Italian newspaper <em>Corriere della Sera</em>, Italy’s paper of record, Parolin said the Pope’s appeal for Ukraine is that “conditions be created for a diplomatic solution in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace”.
“It is obvious that responsibility for the creation of such conditions does not fall solely on one of the parties but on both, and the first condition seems to me to be precisely putting an end to the aggression,” Parolin said.
He stressed the importance of putting the Pope’s response in context, noting that the pontiff was answering a question posed to him, and in his response, the Pope “spoke of negotiation and, in particular, the courage to negotiate, which is never a surrender”.
Parolin said the Holy See continues to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine – insisting that “it should be the aggressors who cease fire first" – and then the opening of negotiations, which he reiterated are “not surrender, but courage".
“We must have greater consideration for human life, for the hundreds of thousands of human lives that have been sacrificed in this war in the heart of Europe,” he said, adding that this applies not only to Ukraine, but also to the ongoing war in Gaza and to many other conflicts around the world.
Parolin’s remarks come after portions of a new papal interview were published recently by Swiss broadcaster <em>RSI</em> in which the Pope <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/pope-talks-of-courage-to-negotiate-to-end-war-in-ukraine/?swcfpc=1">discussed</a> </mark>the "courage to negotiate" and recognising the time when a "white flag" of truce should be considered. <br><br>Parolin said he believes a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war is still possible, because “these are decisions that depend on human will.”
He added: “The war unleashed against Ukraine is not the result of an uncontrollable natural disaster but solely of human freedom. The same human free will that caused this tragedy also has the possibility and the responsibility to take steps to end it, and pave the way for a diplomatic solution."
He also voiced concerns that the war in Ukraine, in which many Western countries are involved through the provision of military support, could escalate further:<br><br>“The escalation of the conflict, the outbreak of new armed clashes, and the arms race are dramatic and disturbing signs in this regard.”
A broadening of the war, he highlighted, means more suffering and death, with civilians, especially women, children and the elderly, “paying the all-too-high price of this unjust war".
Parolin also said that concerns about a “fatal drift towards nuclear war” are real, while noting that often “certain government representatives resort to this sort of threat”.
<strong>“</strong>I can only hope that this is strategic propaganda rather than a 'warning' of something truly possible,” he said, adding that the Holy See’s fear is that “the various actors in this tragic situation may become even more entrenched in their own interests, not doing what they can to achieve a just and stable peace”.
Asked about the similarities between the Ukraine war and the ongoing war in Gaza, Parolin said they have both “dangerously widened beyond any acceptable limit", and are having not just regional, but global repercussions.
Neither conflict can be resolved “without serious negotiation,” Parolin said, highlighting in particular "the hatred they are generating".
"When will wounds this deep ever be healed?”<br><br><em>(Photo: composite using image (left) by Mikhail Metzel and image (right) by Chip Somodevilla; both images via Getty Images.) </em>
ROME – Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin has defended Pope Francis’s recent remarks suggesting that Ukraine step back and consider opening negotiations to end its ongoing war with Russia.<br><br>The Pope’s comments received a significant amount of <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/ukrainian-groups-criticise-popes-comments-about-negotiations-to-end-war/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">backlash</mark></a>, especially his comment about “the courage of the white flag”. Speaking to Italian journalist Gian Guido Vecchi in an interview published in Italian newspaper <em>Corriere della Sera</em>, Italy’s paper of record, Parolin said the Pope’s appeal for Ukraine is that “conditions be created for a diplomatic solution in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace”.
“It is obvious that responsibility for the creation of such conditions does not fall solely on one of the parties but on both, and the first condition seems to me to be precisely putting an end to the aggression,” Parolin said.
He stressed the importance of putting the Pope’s response in context, noting that the pontiff was answering a question posed to him, and in his response, the Pope “spoke of negotiation and, in particular, the courage to negotiate, which is never a surrender”.
Parolin said the Holy See continues to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine – insisting that “it should be the aggressors who cease fire first" – and then the opening of negotiations, which he reiterated are “not surrender, but courage".
“We must have greater consideration for human life, for the hundreds of thousands of human lives that have been sacrificed in this war in the heart of Europe,” he said, adding that this applies not only to Ukraine, but also to the ongoing war in Gaza and to many other conflicts around the world.
Parolin’s remarks come after portions of a new papal interview were published recently by Swiss broadcaster <em>RSI</em> in which the Pope <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/pope-talks-of-courage-to-negotiate-to-end-war-in-ukraine/?swcfpc=1">discussed</a> </mark>the "courage to negotiate" and recognising the time when a "white flag" of truce should be considered. <br><br>Parolin said he believes a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war is still possible, because “these are decisions that depend on human will.”
He added: “The war unleashed against Ukraine is not the result of an uncontrollable natural disaster but solely of human freedom. The same human free will that caused this tragedy also has the possibility and the responsibility to take steps to end it, and pave the way for a diplomatic solution."
He also voiced concerns that the war in Ukraine, in which many Western countries are involved through the provision of military support, could escalate further:<br><br>“The escalation of the conflict, the outbreak of new armed clashes, and the arms race are dramatic and disturbing signs in this regard.”
A broadening of the war, he highlighted, means more suffering and death, with civilians, especially women, children and the elderly, “paying the all-too-high price of this unjust war".
Parolin also said that concerns about a “fatal drift towards nuclear war” are real, while noting that often “certain government representatives resort to this sort of threat”.
<strong>“</strong>I can only hope that this is strategic propaganda rather than a 'warning' of something truly possible,” he said, adding that the Holy See’s fear is that “the various actors in this tragic situation may become even more entrenched in their own interests, not doing what they can to achieve a just and stable peace”.
Asked about the similarities between the Ukraine war and the ongoing war in Gaza, Parolin said they have both “dangerously widened beyond any acceptable limit", and are having not just regional, but global repercussions.
Neither conflict can be resolved “without serious negotiation,” Parolin said, highlighting in particular "the hatred they are generating".
"When will wounds this deep ever be healed?”<br><br><em>(Photo: composite using image (left) by Mikhail Metzel and image (right) by Chip Somodevilla; both images via Getty Images.) </em>
