‘Shameful’: Pope Francis draws flak over Ukraine should ‘raise white flag’ comment

Pope Francis is being widely criticised for his recent comments on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The Pope in an interview said that Ukraine should have the “courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

Several politicians and European commentators came to the forefront criticising Pope’s remarks.

“My Sunday morning take: One must not capitulate in [the] face of evil, one must fight it and defeat it, so that the evil raises the white flag and capitulates,” the Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs wrote on X.

Pope is also being criticised for being silent on Russia’s atrocities against thousands of people since the invasion of Ukraine.

Dennis Radtke, a German Christian Democrat MEP, said the word “shameful” could be used to describe the pope’s comments. “His stance on Ukraine reflects poorly on his pontificate. It is incomprehensible,” Radtke wrote on X.