Last month, Pope Francis allegedly said Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the ‘cruellest’ fighters in Ukraine.
He made the comments about the Chechens and Buryats while speaking in an interview with Jesuit magazine America on November 22.
Pope Francis was overwhelmed with emotion while praying for peace in Ukraine as he struggled to speak as he arrived at the part of the prayer.
In full statement, the Pope said:
‘I WOULD have liked to have brought you the thanks of the Ukrainian people.
‘THE cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on.
‘I speak of a people who are martyred. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them.’
The Vatican has now apologised to Russia for the comment from Pope Francis, after backlashes from Russia government.
Russia confirmed the apology from the Vatican on Thursday at a briefing in Moscow. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia ‘now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican.’
Earlier this week at a Mass at the Vatican, the Pope warned of even darker times ahead for humanity.
