Pope says Ukraine war ‘a crime against humanity’ in annual speech

In his yearly address to diplomats, Pope Francis has denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran’s treatment of protesters and the damaging of government buildings in Brazil by followers of the country’s far-right ex-president.

The speech on Monday to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican is known informally as the pope’s “state of the world” address. Typically, it outlines the areas of greatest concern for the Holy See.

Ukraine: Any act of war ‘is a crime against God and humanity’

• The pope denounced the “wake of death and destruction” caused by Russia’s nearly-year-long offensive in Ukraine, describing the war as “a crime against God and humanity”.
• He said attacks on civilian infrastructure were causing deaths “not only from gunfire and acts of violence but also from hunger and freezing cold.”
• “Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and humanity which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation,” Francis said.
• The pope also warned of a rising nuclear threat which evoked memories of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
• Francis said the world “once more feels fear and anguish” and called for a total ban on nuclear weapons.
  

  Iran: ‘The death penalty cannot be employed’

  • Francis condemned Tehran’s use of the death penalty against demonstrators who are demanding greater freedoms for women.
  • The remarks were his strongest yet on the nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody that have gripped Iran since mid-September.
  • “The death penalty cannot be employed for a purported state justice, since it does not constitute a deterrent nor render justice to victims, but only fuels the thirst for vengeance,” he said.
  • At least four people have been executed in Iran since the demonstrations over Amini’s death began.
  • Francis also called for a global end to capital punishment. He described the death penalty as “always inadmissible since it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person”.