Pope Francis urged Ukrainian youth to ‘reject war and forgive’

Pope Francis urged Ukrainian youth to “reject war and forgive,” engage in dialogue with Russia, and “resist the instinct to respond to a blow with another blow.”

This was reported by Vatican News.

“War always brings destruction. The remedy is dialogue—always, among ourselves, even with those who oppose us. Please, never grow tired of dialogue. Peace is built through dialogue. It is true that sometimes dialogue seems impossible due to the stubbornness of some, but we must always make the effort. Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things. It is hard for everyone, even for me. But what helps me is this thought: I must forgive as I have been forgiven. Each of us should remember how we have been forgiven. The art of forgiveness is not easy, but we must continue moving forward and always forgive,” the Pope said during a video conference in Kyiv.

“Be patriots, reject war, forgive”—this quote was used as the article’s headline.

Earlier, Pope Francis also called for courage in initiating peace negotiations regarding Ukraine.