Pope Francis on Wednesday (March 15) called for "respect" of religious sites in Ukraine, referring specifically to the Kyiv monastery from which the Russian-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is facing eviction, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian authorities have given the UOC a March 29 deadline to vacate its headquarters in the Pechersk Lavra complex, in the latest move against a denomination the government says is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow.
Mentioning the Lavra monastery, Francis asked "the warring parties [in Ukraine] to respect religious sites", adding that people who devote their lives to prayer, "be they of whatever confession, support the people of God."
The pope made the remarks during his weekly address to crowds in St Peter's Square.
On March 11, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, had asked Francis and other religious leaders to persuade Ukraine to stop its crackdown against the UOC.
Kirill has strongly supported Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
The Security Service of Ukraine has since October carried out searches at UOC churches, imposed sanctions on its bishops and financial backers, and opened criminal cases against dozens of clergymen.
Orthodoxy is the primary faith in Ukraine and the Moscow-linked UOC has been in competition for worshippers with an independent Orthodox Church, founded after the Soviet collapse in 1991 but only recognised by the church hierarchy in 2018.
Francis also expressed his closeness to Malawi, hit by victims of tropical cyclone Freddy which killed so far at least 225 people.
