Be patriotic and defend Ukraine, Pope Francis tells Ukrainian youth
February 04, 2025
During a live online meeting with Ukrainian youth, Pope Francis said that “today, the mission of Ukrainian youth is to be patriotic,” according to a report from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
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“You cannot conceal yourselves from the problems you are facing today,” the Pope continued, as he addressed the youth, who were seated in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. “At this moment, your country is wounded by war. You must be patriots, love your homeland, and defend it.”
Vatican News, the agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, quoted extensively from the Pope’s remarks, but omitted the Pope’s exhortation to the youth to defend Ukraine.
“Remember the heroes who have given their lives for your country,” the Pope also said.
“War always destroys,” he added. “The remedy is dialogue: always, among ourselves, even with those who oppose us. Please, never grow tired of dialogue. Peace is built through dialogue. It is true that sometimes dialogue is impossible due to the stubbornness of some, but we must always make the effort.”
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, also spoke at the February 1 gathering. Ukrainian youth in seven other cities, including Chicago, also took part, Catholic News Service reported.
The Pope’s strong encouragement to Ukrainian youth to be patriotic and defend their country struck a different tone from previous papal statements questioning the concept of just war—even as he emphasized, as he has in the past, war’s destructiveness and the need for dialogue.
The Pope’s video meeting with Ukrainian Catholic youth echoed an August 2023 video meeting with Russian Catholic youth. During that meeting, the Pontiff paid tribute to Catherine the Great, who had forcibly united 1.5 million Catholics to Orthodoxy. The Pope’s comments led to anguished reactions from the Ukranian government and the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
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