VATICAN CITY (RNS) — On Palm Sunday, Pope Francis once again expressed his closeness to the “martyred” country of Ukraine, while also praying for the victims of the “vile terrorist attack” in Moscow on Friday that left 139 people dead and many more wounded.As many Christians draw closer to Easter, Pope Francis and the Vatican continue their efforts to reach out to both parties in the Russian and Ukrainian war. For the pope, there are no good guys and bad guys in today’s polarized wars, and achieving peace takes precedence over overarching ideologies.
“Pope Francis tells us that when we attempt to enter into dialogue we need to avoid preconceived assumptions of good versus bad and instead try to start from zero with no set conditions,” said Victor Gaetan, author of “God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy and America’s Armageddon,” speaking to Religion News Service on Tuesday (March 26).
The pope’s vision is enshrined in his 2013 document “The Joy of the Gospel,” where he stated that “reality is greater than ideas.” Behind this cryptic statement lies the pontiff’s belief that the concrete suffering of innocents during times of war is more important than the ideologies underlying the conflict.
Representing the pope’s diplomatic approach on the ground is Cardi …
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“Pope Francis tells us that when we attempt to enter into dialogue we need to avoid preconceived assumptions of good versus bad and instead try to start from zero with no set conditions,” said Victor Gaetan, author of “God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy and America’s Armageddon,” speaking to Religion News Service on Tuesday (March 26).
The pope’s vision is enshrined in his 2013 document “The Joy of the Gospel,” where he stated that “reality is greater than ideas.” Behind this cryptic statement lies the pontiff’s belief that the concrete suffering of innocents during times of war is more important than the ideologies underlying the conflict.
Representing the pope’s diplomatic approach on the ground is Cardi …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]