POPE CALLS WAR IN UKRAINE A “REGRESSION OF MANKIND”

In his afternoon sermon in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Francis called the war in Ukraine a “‘terrible regression of humanity,'” which made him “‘suffer and weep.'” He called the bombing and destruction of Mariupol barbaric and called for a humanitarian corridor for those at Azovstal. Yesterday, according to reports from the deputy commander of the “Azov” regiment Svyatoslav Palamar, 20 women and children were evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal factory in Mariupol besieged by the Russian military. The RIA Novosti news agency also reported yesterday that 25 civilians – 19 adults and six children – had left the territory of Azovstal. This is not the first time the Pope has spoken out about the war in Ukraine. In the beginning of April, during his visit to Malta, he said that from the east of Europe “the darkness of war has come”. “While once again someone influential, unfortunately locked in the anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, provoke and foment conflict, ordinary people feel the need to build a future that will either be shared or not at all,” Pope Francis said at the time.”