This is an article that I’m nervous to publish, especially in light of the recent backlash against Pope Francis. This week, the pope has received a great deal of criticism, including criticism from many who typically view him favorably, following his recent “white flag” comment to a Swiss outlet regarding the Russian war on Ukraine. Pope Francis’s statement exacerbated the Holy See’s already strained relationship with Ukraine and Ukrainian Catholics’ increasingly negative perception of the 87-year-old pontiff.
Vatican News provided a translation of the exchange:
In the interview, the interviewer Lorenzo Buccella asks the Pope: “In Ukraine, some call for the courage of surrender, of the white flag. But others say that this would legitimize the stronger party. What do you think?”
Pope Francis replied: “That is one interpretation. But I believe that the stronger one is the one who sees the situation, who thinks of the people, who has the courage of the white flag, to negotiate. And today, negotiations are possible with the help of international powers. The word ‘negotiate’ is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, it is necessary to have the courage to negotiate. You may feel ashamed, but with how many deaths will it end? Negotiate in time; look for some country that can mediate. Today, for example in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate. Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse.”
Not unexpectedly, there’s been “damage control” from the Vatican. Papal spokesman Matteo Bruni explained that the pope “uses the term white flag, and responds by picking up the image proposed by the interviewer, to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation. Elsewhere in the interview, speaking of another situation of conflict, but referring to every situation of war, the Pope clearly stated: ‘Negotiations are never a surrender.’”
This is a reasonable analysis. A white flag often connotes a “flag of truce,” waved during a war by an unarmed delegate of one side as he approaches the opposing side with the intention to negotiate. It was also fair for Bruni to point out that the interviewer was the first to mention the white flag. Certainly it’s worth pointing out that Pope Francis did not repeat the phrase “courage to surrender” in his response, saying “courage to negotiate” instead. Meanwhile, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, has been trying to smooth things over by stressing that negotiations with Russia can only begin with a stop to Russian aggression and must end with a “just peace.”
From a diplomatic and apologetical point of view, these responses are appropriate and perhaps worthwhile, although they don’t appear to have slowed down the critiques. And they haven’t stopped Russia from exploiting the situation for its own ends. Although Pope Francis has made it very clear that “martyred Ukraine” is not the aggressor in the conflict and that Russia’s invasion was absolutely unjustifiable, Francis’s reluctance to publicly voice his hope for a Ukrainian military victory has baffled many and has made him the target of fierce criticism, even from some of his most ardent supporters.
Many are wondering why Pope Francis has been unwilling to speak out boldly in favor of Ukraine in their struggle against Russian invaders. The answer to this question is likely counterintuitive to most of us. Many will surely find it foolish. It is, however, integral to Pope Francis’s worldview. To put it simply: Pope Francis prioritizes nonviolence over war as a matter of principle. From the beginning of his papacy, Francis has been consistent about the inviolability and dignity of the human person, and this principle applies to his frequent calls for fighting around the world to cease.
In the pope’s view, the ideal outcome of the war is not a military victory for Ukraine, but for both sides to immediately lay down their arms and to diplomatically negotiate a just peace agreement, as implausible as that might sound. It may be satisfying to vanquish a foe, but Pope Francis believes strongly that the continuance of war — any war — always comes at a high cost. Even though Ukraine is clearly the victim in the conflict and Russia bears tremendous guilt for waging an unjust war, each day the war continues means more death, destruction, violence, and trauma. Ukraine has and will continue to bear the brunt of the suffering caused by this war. War is hell. It is a hell that continues until the fighting stops, regardless of the winner or loser or even the rightness of the cause. As Pope Francis said in a homily in September 2013, “War always marks the failure of peace, it is always a defeat for humanity.”
In September 2022, during the return flight from his trip to Kazakhstan, Pope Francis said that there were certain circumstances in which it would be just for a country to acquire weapons to defend itself, “if it is done according to the conditions of morality, which are manifold.” He added, “The motivation is what largely qualifies the morality of this act. To defend oneself is not only lawful but also an expression of love of country. Those who do not defend themselves, those who do not defend something, do not love it; instead, those who defend, love.”
But he then began speaking about a more controversial topic — his criticism of the concept of “just war.” He said it is important that we rethink this concept, “Because everybody is talking about peace today: for so many years, for 70 years, the United Nations has been talking about peace; they have been making many speeches about peace. But right now, how many wars are going on?” Since that press conference, how many more deadly conflicts around the world have begun?
There’s a fairly old and somewhat forgotten rumor that earlier in his papacy, Pope Francis completed an early draft of an encyclical on nonviolence. It is said that it didn’t go much further due to pushback from curial officials who were worried about the potential repercussions in the diplomatic sphere. Supposedly it went into a drawer and there it has presumably stayed. One can nevertheless assemble a fairly cohesive philosophy of nonviolence from the pope’s teachings over the course of the past eleven years.
Pope Francis’s message for the 2017 World Day of Peace boldly called on everyone, particularly governments and heads of state, “make active nonviolence our way of life.” He did not mince words:
“I ask God to help all of us to cultivate nonviolence in our most personal thoughts and values. May charity and nonviolence govern how we treat each other as individuals, within society and in international life. When victims of violence are able to resist the temptation to retaliate, they become the most credible promotors of nonviolent peacemaking. In the most local and ordinary situations and in the international order, may nonviolence become the hallmark of our decisions, our relationships and our actions, and indeed of political life in all its forms.”
A few years later, in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Francis pointed to war (along with the death penalty) as a “false solution” to problems in the world, asserting that, “War can easily be chosen by invoking all sorts of allegedly humanitarian, defensive or precautionary excuses, and even resorting to the manipulation of information. In recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly ‘justified’” (FT 258).
In the same encyclical, Francis asks us to consider the costs of war:
“Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil. Let us not remain mired in theoretical discussions, but touch the wounded flesh of the victims. Let us look once more at all those civilians whose killing was considered ‘collateral damage’. Let us ask the victims themselves. Let us think of the refugees and displaced, those who suffered the effects of atomic radiation or chemical attacks, the mothers who lost their children, and the boys and girls maimed or deprived of their childhood. Let us hear the true stories of these victims of violence, look at reality through their eyes, and listen with an open heart to the stories they tell. In this way, we will be able to grasp the abyss of evil at the heart of war. Nor will it trouble us to be deemed naive for choosing peace” (FT 261).
That final sentence, “Nor will it trouble us to be deemed naive for choosing peace,” written with a heart that breaks for those who suffer terribly while wars rage, is why Pope Francis routinely finds himself as the object of scorn and ridicule when discussing matters of war. Obviously he is not a military tactician and he might be naïve about the likelihood that an attempt to seek a peaceful resolution will succeed, but he is telling us a hard truth when he reminds us that we must always seek peace.
Image: Adobe Stock. By Pixel-Shot.
Mike Lewis is the founding managing editor of Where Peter Is. He and Jeannie Gaffigan co-host Field Hospital, a U.S. Catholic podcast.
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