VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned "the massacre
of Bucha" and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies
shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and
bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.Pope Francis holds the Ukrainian flag that was sent to him from the town of Bucha.
The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have triggered a
global outcry and pledges of further sanctions against Moscow from the West.
"Recent news from
the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope,
brought new atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha," Francis said at
the end of his weekly audience in the Vatican's auditorium.
"Stop this war! Let the weapons fall silent! Stop sowing death and
destruction," he said, decrying cruelty against civilians, defenceless
women and children.
The Kremlin says allegations
Russian forces committed war crimes by executing civilians including in Bucha
were a "monstrous forgery" aimed at denigrating the Russian army.
Francis said the darkened and
stained flag, which had writing and symbols on it was brought to him from Bucha
on Tuesday.
"It comes from the war,
precisely from that martyred city, Bucha," he said, kissing it and holding
it up for the audience of several thousand, which broke into applause.
He then asked a group of
children war refugees who arrived on Tuesday from Ukraine to come up to him.
"These children had to
flee in order to arrive in a safe land. This is the fruit of war. Let's not
forget them and let's not forget the Ukrainian people," he said, before
giving each child a gift of a chocolate Easter egg.
Speaking in the earlier part
of his audience about the post-World War Two period, Francis said: "In the
war in Ukraine, we are witnessing the impotency of the United Nations".
During a trip to Malta at the
weekend, Francis said he was considering a trip to Kyiv and implicitly
criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine,
saying a "potentate" was fomenting conflict for nationalist
interests.
Francis has only mentioned
Russia specifically in prayers, such as during a special global event for peace
on March 25, but he has referred to Russia by using terms such as invasion and
aggression.
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