Catholic leader advised to take tougher stance against Vladimir Putin

oge okonkwo

June 10, 2015 7:01 PM

Kenneth Hackett, the US ambassador to the Holy See, said the Vatican “could say more about concerns on territorial integrity”

Pope Francis has been urged by a top American diplomat to take a tougher stance against Vladimir Putin when he meets the Russian president on Wednesday evening.

The pope, a frequent critic of military action, has taken a cautious approach to criticism of Russia since its annexation of Crimea.

The Guardian reports that Kenneth Hackett, the US ambassador to the Holy See, said the Vatican “could say more about concerns on territorial integrity”.

“Maybe this is an opportunity for the Holy Father to privately raise those concerns,” Hackett said. Pope Francis had “certainly” been made aware of the violence in Ukraine and was not unaware of the crisis, he added.

It was gathered that the comments, which were made in response to reporters’ questions at a briefing on an unrelated matter, came hours before the Argentinian pontiff was due to host Putin in the first meeting between the two leaders since 2013.

In February, the pope referred to the bloodshed in the Ukrainian conflict as fratricidal, a comment seen as controversial in Ukraine, where the violence is viewed as a direct consequence of Russian aggression. Anatolij Babynskyj, editor of a prominent Greek Catholic journal, told Crux, an online news site that closely follows the Vatican: “It shows the ignorance of the pope about the situation in Ukraine.”

Pope Francis has also sought to strengthen ties with the Russian Orthodox church as part of a broader aim to promote Christian unity.

Hackett added that Putin had in the past discussed his concern for Christians who were being persecuted in the Middle East, particularly in Syria.

“I’d like to see if he has a proposal. That would be very useful,” Hackett said. “Putin has a role … to step up and address some of the major issues.”

In relation to Ukraine, Hackett said: “It does seem that Russia is supporting the insurgents and it does seem that Russian troops are inside Ukraine. So this is a very serious situation and I believe that the G7 has pretty well decided that they are going to continue the sanctions [against Russia].”

oge okonkwo