While Pope Francis last week repeated his previous warning about a global conflict, he should perhaps be more concerned about his own faustian pact. The Pontiff has, of course, already come in for criticism for his stance towards the war in Ukraine. While the Pope praised Ukrainians for fighting for their survival, he has said the war was “perhaps in some way provoked”. The Vatican has since had to counter claims that Francis has been soft on Russia, maintaining that the Pope views the war as “senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious.” More recently, Pope Francis called for an end to the current “world war”, as he invoked special prayers for “martyred Ukraine.”