(PresidentialHill.com)- On Friday, Pope Francis condemned the “childlike scenario” in Ukraine, where politicians joke around “with fire, missiles, and bombs.”
The pontiff addressed world leaders gathered in Bahrain for a “Forum for Dialogue,” saying that after two terrible world wars, a cold war that for decades kept the world in suspense, catastrophic conflicts taking place in every part of the globe, and amid accusations, threats, and condemnations, we continue to find ourselves on the brink of a delicate precipice.
He stated, without naming names, that it is a striking paradox that while the majority of the world struggles to overcome common challenges, “a few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests, reviving obsolete rhetoric, redesigning spheres of influence and opposing blocs.”
The pope said in the “garden of humanity,” we seem to be seeing a dramatic and infantile scenario, where instead of “cultivating our surroundings, we are playing instead with fire, missiles, and bombs, weapons that bring misery and death, covering our common home with ashes and hatred, insisting obstinately on imposing our models and autocratic, imperialist, nationalist, and populist views.”
Such devastating repercussions will be if we continue to accentuate conflict instead of understanding.
He remarked that if we don’t try to understand one another and work together for the benefit of everyone, we will continue to categorize people as either good or bad. In a worldwide society, we can only advance by rowing together; if we sail alone, we go adrift. These are the options we have.
According to Francis, we want the differences between East and West to be resolved for the benefit of all without detracting attention from another constant and dramatically widening disparity: the divide between the North and the South of the world.
“And may we illustrate that another road of meeting is feasible if various potentates negotiate with one another on the basis of interests, money, and power maneuvers,” he remarked. Possible and essential, given that money, power, and force cannot create a peaceful future.
He said, “I address to all my sincere request for the end of the violence in Ukraine and the beginning of real negotiations for peace.”
