Pope Francis accepts his Russia comments were 'badly phrased', 'faulty'

Pope Francis on Monday (September 4) accepted that his recent comments on Russia, which were perceived as praise for imperialism by Ukraine, were poorly phrased.

The pope stated that he intended to remind Russia's cultural heritage and not political one to its young citizens. While interacting with reporters aboard the plane on his way back from Mongolia, Francis stated that he wished to assure China, which has complicated relations with the Vatican, that the Catholic Church should not be considered a foreign power with any ulterior motives.

"I was not thinking of imperialism when I said that," said Francis, reacting to the comments he made last month. In a video conference held on August 25, Pope Francis talked about tsars Peter I and Catherine II, who had expanded Russian territory, and told the young Russian Catholics that they were the heirs of the "great Russian empire".

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The remarks led to an uproar in Ukraine because the two Russian monarchs' legacies were invoked by Russian President Vladimir Putin while he was trying to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

"Maybe it wasn't the best way of putting it, but in speaking of the great Russia, I was thinking not so much geographically but culturally," said Francis, while referring to Russian literary icon Fyodor Dostoevsky.

"It was an off-the-cuff comment that came to mind because I studied it (Russian history) in school. Russian culture is of such beauty, such profoundness. It should not be cancelled because of political problems. There were dark political years in Russia but the heritage is there, available to all," he stated.

'Catholic Church is not a foreign power'

Speaking about the Vatican-China relations, Francis said: "I think we have to move forward in the religious aspect in order to understand each other better so that Chinese citizens do not think the Church does not accept their culture and their values and (do not think) that the Church represents another foreign power."

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A policy of "Sinicisation" of religion is being followed by Beijing as it tries to enforce obedience to the Communist Party and root out foreign influences.

An agreement reached between China and the Vatican in 2018 on the appointment of bishops has remained tenuous, as the Vatican complains about Beijing violating it many times.

"Relations with China are very respectful. Personally, I have great admiration for the Chinese people," he stated.

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