The newly appointed Pope Leo XIV spoke out against Russia’s continued war against Ukraine in an interview on May 9.

Speaking with Peruvian news outlet Semanario Expresión, Pope Leo condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine, characterizing it as a "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power.”

Pope Leo was appointed just earlier this week on May 8, following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. On May 7, cardinals officially opened the historic conclave in the Vatican to choose the next head of the Catholic Church.

By clearing naming Russia’s imperialist aspirations in Ukraine, the new pope’s comments come as a departure from his predecessor’s position on the war.

  • jjpamsterdam@feddit.org
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    2 days ago

    He seems to be better than the last guy when it comes to Russia’s war. That guy really thought it was the fault of NATO/Ukraine/whoever…

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Not really that they were at fault, per se, he just wrongly assumed a better outcome would come if Ukraine surrendered. Personally, I think that would just give Russia and China the greenlight to expand further and faster.

    • dan80@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      Pope Francis was a Jesuit. When in 1773 the church dissolve the Jesuit order, many of them fled to Russia, where Catherine the Second gave them hospitality. The order was restored in 1814. Since then, Jesuits have always had a soft spot for Russia.

      • jjpamsterdam@feddit.org
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        1 day ago

        He is Catholic after all. Luckily I live in a jurisdiction where it’s legal to refer to the Catholic Church as a “cult of child fuckers”, which seems a very accurate description in my opinion.

    • daydrinkingchickadee@lemmy.ml
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      2 days ago

      That guy really thought it was the fault of NATO/Ukraine/whoever…

      Maybe he just hasn’t seen all the evidence yet. He just started after all.