May 3, 2022, 09:55am.
In an interview published Tuesday, Pope Francis said he would meet with Putin in Moscow if he could.
Pope Francis met with Russian President Putin at the Vatican.
Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that the Vatican told Russia the Pope wanted a meeting with Putin, but has yet to hear a response.
In the interview, Pope Francis said that Russian forces had shown "brutality" during the war under Putin.
According to the United Nations, over 3000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed so far during the war, and Russia has been accused of committing genocide against Ukrainian President Joe Biden.
This is the first time Pope Francis addressed Putin by name since Russia invaded Ukraine and the Pope has mostly expressed neutrality on the conflict while strongly condemning the violence.
I fear that Putin does not want to meet at this time. How can it not be stopped? Pope Francis said that they lived through the same thing 25 years ago.
The Pope's comments were covered in an article by the Russian news agency, which implied that the Pope was siding with Russia despite the damning nature of his comments. The Pope's reference to Rwanda and negative comments about Putin were not included in the report.
Pope Francis faced strong backlash over plans to include a meditation written by Russian and Ukrainian families as part of a Good Friday celebration in Rome. The prayer was removed from the service after Ukrainian clergy said it downplayed Russia's role.
Pope wants to meet Putin.
The pope may pray for Putin, but he's still neutral on Ukraine.
Pope's Russia-Ukraine plan drew attention on Good Friday.
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