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Pope Francis, framed by the Vatican Christmas tree, salutes pilgrims and faithful during the Angelus noon supplication from the model of his workplace overlooking St.Peter's Square, astatine the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis connected Sunday offered prayers for Ukraine, and urged dialog and not weapons arsenic Russia masses tens of thousands of troops connected its borderline with Ukraine.

Francis didn't notation Russia by sanction successful comments to the faithful during the accepted Sunday blessing successful St. Peter’s Square, but the implications seemed wide arsenic helium called for planetary dialog to defuse the crisis.

The pontiff prayed for “dear Ukraine, for each its churches and spiritual communities and each of its people,” and expressed anticipation that “tensions would beryllium resolved done superior planetary dialog and not done arms.”

The Vatican has been loathe to knock Russia implicit its Ukraine policies for fearfulness of alienating the Russian Orthodox Church.

Just past week, Francis said helium was hoping to conscionable successful the not-too-distant aboriginal with the caput of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, pursuing their historical 2016 brushwood successful Cuba.

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Speaking to reporters arsenic helium returned from a travel to Greece and Cyprus, Francis said helium planned to conscionable adjacent week with the Russian church’s overseas envoy “to hold connected a imaginable meeting” with Kirill. The pontiff noted that Kirill is owed to question successful the coming weeks, but Francis said helium was besides “ready to spell to Moscow” adjacent if diplomatic protocols weren’t yet successful place.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.