Pope Francis expressed his concern about the conflict in Ukraine and in other parts of the globe in an interview with the editors of the European cultural magazines of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The Pontiff warned in the interview published this Tuesday that the planet is currently experiencing a “third World War”.
The Holy Father described the use of mercenaries by Russia to fight in the conflict as “monstrous”.
“What we are seeing is the brutality and ferocity with which this war is being carried out by the troops, usually mercenaries, used by the Russians. The Russians prefer to send Chechen and Syrian mercenaries,” the Holy Father said.
“But the danger -continued the Pontiff-, is that we only see this, which is monstrous, and we do not see all the drama that is unfolding behind this war, which perhaps was provoked in some way or was not avoided. And we must take into account the interest in testing and selling weapons. It is very sad, but at the end of the day it is what is at stake”.
In addition, Pope Francis stressed that he was “simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good and bad.”
“Can someone tell me right now: so you are for Putin! No I’m not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing. I am simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good and bad without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex,” the Pope explained.
“It is also true that the Russians thought that everything would be over in a week. But they miscalculated. They met a brave people, a people that struggle to survive and that has a history of struggle”, assured the French Pope.
The Pope then assured that he hoped to meet with the Russian Orthodox leader, Patriarch Kirill, in Kazakhstan in September: “I hope to be able to greet him and talk a little with him as a pastor,” he said.
The Holy Father said that “what is happening now in Ukraine we see it that way because it is closer to us and touches our sensibilities more. But there are other countries far away – think parts of Africa, northern Nigeria, northern Congo – where the war is going on and nobody cares.”
“Think of Rwanda 25 years ago. Think of Myanmar and the Rohingya. The world is at war. A few years ago it occurred to me to say that we are experiencing the third world war in pieces. For me today the third world war has been declared,” the Pope noted.