As of: March 12, 2024, 12:50 p.m
Comments
Press
Split
Pope Francis says a prayer in the parish church of San Pio V. © Andrew Medichini/AP/dpa/archive image
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, himself a practicing Catholic, heavily criticized the Pope for his statements about peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
The Green politician said on Tuesday in Stuttgart that he did not agree in any way with the Pope's statement.
“I find them extremely strange.” The statements put the aggressor and the person suffering the aggression on the same level - “and that doesn't work.”
Stuttgart - Christianity is undoubtedly a pacifist religion.
But only an individual can be pacifist, not a state.
A state must be defensive and defend itself, said the head of government.
The Pope had sparked strong criticism with a misleading appeal for peace negotiations in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
In an interview on Swiss television, the 87-year-old also used the phrase “white flag” - in times of war, the identifying symbol of negotiators or the sign of surrender.
dpa