Pope Francis

Pope Francis compares Russia’s war in Ukraine to 1930s famine inflicted by Stalin

Reuters

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Pope Francis compares Russia’s war in Ukraine to 1930s famine inflicted by Stalin

Pope Francis gestures, in Asti, Italy November 20, 2022.

Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS

Pope Francis, speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square in his weekly general audience, mentions the 'Holodomor,' or death by starvation, in which millions of Ukrainians died

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said on Wednesday, November 23, that Ukrainians were suffering today from the “martyrdom of aggression” and compared Russia’s war in Ukraine to the “terrible genocide” of the 1930s, when Soviet leader Josef Stalin inflicted famine on the country.

Francis, speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in his weekly general audience, mentioned the “Holodomor”, or death by starvation, in which millions of Ukrainians died.

“This Saturday marks the anniversary of the terrible genocide of the Holodomor, the extermination by famine of 1932-33 that was artificially caused by Stalin,” he said.

“Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for so many Ukrainians – children, women, elderly – who are today suffering the martyrdom of aggression,” he said.

For hundreds of years, the Ukrainian language and any expression of Ukrainian culture and independent identity were quashed, first under the Russian Empire of the tsars and later by the Soviets.

The Holodomor was a result of Stalin’s efforts to collectivize agriculture and root out Ukraine’s fledgling
nationalist movement.

Since Russia invaded its neighbor in February, Francis has mentioned Ukraine in nearly all his public appearances and has warned several times that the crisis risks triggering the use of nuclear weapons, with uncontrollable global consequences.

Last month the Pope for the first time directly begged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the “spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!