Ukraine PM invites pope to visit, seeks help repatriating deported children

[Chris]

Ukraine PM invites pope to visit, seeks help repatriating deported children
Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow invaded in February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.
By REUTERS

Ukraine's prime minister said on Thursday he had invited Pope Francis to visit Ukraine and asked for help in repatriating thousands of children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied land since Moscow's invasion. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a news conference in Rome that he had held talks at the Vatican and discussed Kyiv's peace formula to end Russia's 14-month-old war in Ukraine. "I asked his holiness for help in returning home Ukrainian children who are being held, arrested, deported to Russia in a criminal way," he said.

more............ https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-741423

 

[athenasius]

That is a move guaranteed to inflame Russian anger since the Pope is Catholic and the Russian Orthodox church has a long standing feud against the Catholic church.

Then the bad feelings over the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic churches because that is a blend of Catholic and Orthodox theology and is considered by the Orthodox church in Russia as being completely apostate or worse.

Inviting the Pope in is not quite like getting the Pope involved in the very Catholic country of Poland in it's Solidarity days when Poland was attempting to break free from Russian control.

This is a very different situation, which the Ukraine knows full well, and probably thinks the west won't understand the insult and provocation to Russia.