Vatican Forced to Clarify Pope’s Praise of Russia’s Past Empire
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The Vatican tried to walk back remarks from Pope Francis after he told Russians last week to take pride in being “the heirs” of “that great Russian empire” in comments that ignited outrage in Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry in Kyiv called the Pope’s statements, made in a speech Friday to young Russians, “sad” and said his comments supported the “imperialistic ideas” embraced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.