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Pope Francis is ready to go to Moscow in order to talk to Putin. Anatolii Babynskyi, a researcher at the Institute of Church History, a lecturer at UCU and author of «The History of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 90 Minutes,» says that the Pope has finally come close to calling Russia an aggressor, trying to do everything he can, but his efforts have failed.
The Pope’s last interview seems to me like the conversation with a man at a dead end, who tried to do everything he could, but his best intentions crashed against the wall. However,... The fact that he would like to go to Putin is not a «betrayal», but rather an attempt to personally persuade him to stop, although it is naive. He went to the Russian embassy with this intention, as he says in the same place. In this interview, he was probably the closest to naming Russia what it really is. Patriarch Kirill, who showed him the maps for 20 minutes and indicated «where the attack was prepared from,» was sat down [by the Pope] and named a servant of the Russian president.
Concerning NATO and arms supplies. These are strange words. So far, he does not understand this, but so far... He himself said: «Ukrainians are right, but we cannot fully understand them.» So we are right, and now we need him to fully understand us.
The debate over the supply of arms provoked controversy over the Church’s social doctrine, which found conflicting theses. We need to tell him that these weapons are not supplied to us just because we had decided to fight for fun. Not the curse on Russia, which we expect in vain from him, but his recognition of our fundamental right to exist – this will be our victory. And this social doctrine is clearly stated in paragraph 157 of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.
The sphere of human rights has also extended to the rights of peoples and nations: «what is true for the individual is also true for peoples.» The teaching points out that international law «is based on the principle of equal respect for states, the right of everyone to self-determination and the principles of free cooperation for the highest common good of mankind.» Peace is built on respect not only for human rights but also for the rights of peoples, including the right to independence.
The rights of nations are nothing but «human rights cherished at a special level of public life.» The nation has a «fundamental right to exist», right for «its own language and culture, through which it manifests and develops... its spiritual «sovereignty», right for «living according to its own customs, excluding, of course, violations of fundamental human rights and, in particular, oppression of minorities», «building their future through proper education of the younger generation.»
The international order requires a balance between the individual and the universal, and all nations are called to achieve this balance, because their first duty is to live in peace, respect and solidarity with other peoples.
By Anatolii Babynskyi, translated by Vitalii Holich
The author’s column is a reflection of the author’s subjective position. The editorial board of «Your City» does not always share the views expressed in the columns, and is ready to give dissenters the opportunity for a reasoned answer.
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