Biden makes impassioned plea at UN, warns world can't abandon Ukraine
USA TodaySep 25, 2023
The Facts
On Saturday, Pope Francis urged the West and its allies to stop playing with the "martyrdom" of the Ukrainian people in the nation's conflict with Russia, by initially deciding to provide Kyiv with weapons and subsequently considering withdrawing their support.
In an apparent reference to Poland, which recently announced it would stop sending weapons to Ukraine, Francis said: "I see now that some countries are moving backward... A process is starting in which the martyr certainly will be the Ukrainian people, and that is an ugly thing."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
After suggesting the war in Ukraine was a consequence of NATO "barking at Russia's gate" and subsequently offending Ukraine by invoking the enlightened Russian empire, the pope is now denigrating the weapons industry as a key driver of the "martyrdom" of Ukraine's people. Francis should take greater care before sharing his political opinion as, in his own words, the Catholic Church is "not a political organization."
Establishment-critical narrative
Pope Francis has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, made countless appeals to end the war, and repeatedly offered to mediate a peace process throughout the conflict. It's disappointing that the pontiff, who rightly calls out those producing weapons of war as merchants of death, is under fire for stating the truth — that the Ukrainians are paying the price for the greed of western nations and the actions of the arms industry.