Pope Francis has suggested that racism plays a role in many countries being more open to refugees from war-stricken Ukraine than to refugees from other parts of the world.
On the Italian television channel RAI, the Pope said that the weakest always suffer the most from war. And he added that “the refugees are divided”. “First class, second class, based on skin color, whether you’re from a developed or developing country. We’re racists, and that’s bad.”
UN figures show that 4.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion in late February.
Later on Good Friday, the day on which Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the Pope will lead another celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the first since the outbreak of the corona pandemic two years ago.
Pope Francis said at RAI that he accepts that countries have the right to defend themselves, but that the general abandonment of peace is a problem. “We live by an idea where we kill each other for the need for power, for security, for many things,” said the head of the Roman Catholic Church. “I understand that governments buy weapons. I understand them, but I don’t approve.”
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