VSS: Pope urged Russians and Ukrainians to forgive each other

Pope Francis, on the day of Forgiveness Sunday, asked for forgiveness from everyone he could offend in Russia, and called on Russians and Ukrainians to forgive each other and start a dialogue, Leonid Sevastyanov, chairman of the World Union of Old Believers (ARC), told RIA Novosti, who maintains correspondence with pontiff.

“The Pope invites Russians and Ukrainians on Forgiveness Sunday to forgive each other, forgive all offenses and sit down for negotiations. Christian virtue is mutual forgiveness and protection of human life. There is no such goal for which you can sacrifice the lives of people, ” said Sevastyanov agency.

Last October, the pontiff called on the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict and move towards a peaceful dialogue. Prior to that, he said that the supply of weapons to Ukraine is morally permissible, since we are talking about the defense of the country. In November, it became known about the participation of the Pope in the exchange of prisoners from the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Alexander Avdeev said that the release of Ukrainian prisoners by the Russian side (or their exchange) is carried out taking into account the lists that Pope Francis regularly provides.

On December 18, in an interview with ABC, Francis stated that the fighting in Ukraine are world war, and stressed that “many hands interfere with the cauldron of war.” On December 25, in his traditional Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) Christmas address in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, he urged end the conflict in Ukraine, as well as remember all the protracted conflicts in other countries.