Four years have now passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. To commemorate this anniversary, Vatican News spoke with Father Vikario General of the Mother of God Archdiocese in Moscow.
Question. Ukraine and Russia have entered their fifth year of large-scale conflict. What is the current feeling among the Russian people?
**Answer.** Of course, it is a great honor for me to speak on behalf of our tiny Catholic community in Russia. It is much smaller than most people believe. We are less than 1% of the general population, and the number of practicing Catholics is even smaller. For many historical reasons, the Catholic Church in Russia is viewed with some suspicion, as a Church of foreigners, as a Church that does not truly belong to Russian culture. And this is, logically, a challenge for us: for Catholics in Russia to be, on the one hand, people of Russian culture and language, and, at the same time, belong to the universal Catholic Church throughout the world.
R. At this moment, I would say that the people in Russia, including Catholics, have the same attitude as we do towards the conflict. It must end. All the countless lives lost during this conflict speak for themselves. Violence speaks for itself, and the desire is that this comes to an end. This conclusion must be a just and lasting peace; that is the hope and expectation of Russian Catholics.
P. Sadly, the death toll has increased significantly in these four years. The cemeteries have expanded. How does this number of deceased influence the perception of the conflict by the Russians?
R. I can’t speak for all Russians; that would be very difficult. I *can* speak for the people I encounter and who speak to me as a priest. On one hand, there’s the position of denial. Many people, unfortunately, simply prefer to suppress this reality, not pay attention to what’s happening, and say: ‘Well, we can’t influence this. We can’t do anything about it. It’s better to pretend it’s not happening. Let’s not pay attention.’ And then there’s the expectation that everything will go back to being as before, that things will be normal again. But that’s impossible.
R. I have always been very impressed by the courage of Pope Francis, who as early as 2014 began to speak of a Third World War fought by parts. For many people, it was very strange to hear those words. And I believe they were prophetic: he foresaw something terrible. We cannot ignore this reality. As a priest, I must tell people: “you cannot simply pretend that nothing is happening.”
R. For others, instead, the conflict occupies all their minds. They cannot see anything but this horrible reality. They lose hope, fall into despair, and wonder if God — what began during the pandemic — is truly good, if He allows these things to happen. And now they question it even more: is it really true what the Church teaches about God as merciful, good, and kind, if these things happen? Then, of course, we must look at the history of salvation. We must attend to what Scripture says. And Scripture always says that when these things happen it is because the cup of injustice is overflowing and something must change. Our lives must change.
Not just the lives of politicians, of parties, or of countries, but the life of each person.
R. Many of our families remain united, but we also have many Russian-Ukrainian families, especially among the Catholics, and these families are now divided or even shattered. This is a source of great suffering for people, who somehow have to learn to cope with it.
P. What narrative is presented about this conflict in Russia? What information do Russians have access to?
R. I would say that the narrative in Russia is very similar to that of all the other countries directly or indirectly involved in this conflict. The narrative says that the truth is on our side: we are right, and the others are wrong. And, as I can follow the news in different languages—English, German, and Italian—I see that more or less the narrative is the same everywhere: that the other, the enemy, is to blame. It’s not just about having done something wrong; they are generally considered to be bad people, from a bad culture, with a distorted human nature, incapable of living in peace or of being reasonable. There is a deep doubt about the possibility of coexisting peacefully with the other side.
I would say that this narrative is presented on all sides currently.
**R.** The important thing about the Church’s message is that this is precisely the attitude we must overcome. I was deeply moved, for example, when I heard about the meeting of Ukrainian women with Pope Leo, and they said: “We cannot blame the Russians for this conflict, because we ourselves do not know how we would behave, what our attitude would be if we lived in the same situation, in the same information climate, in the same information environment. If we heard the same news, the same ideas, we could not blame them for the point of view they have.”
R. This is the beginning. This is the starting point: understanding that people, unfortunately, are limited by what they see and by what they know, and from there we must move forward to see how we can move towards peace, starting with knowing each other more deeply.
P. You mentioned the small community of Catholics in Russia. How is that community facing the situation?
R. Generally, I would say that life goes on somehow. What is most important for the Church, of course, are the sacraments, common prayer, and liturgy, and this continues as usual. But there is a renewed understanding of how vital unity is for the Church, because we feel that it is not only at this level that ecclesial unity is challenged. We all know that there are divisions over the liturgy, over certain moral issues, over what the Church should be like in the future, and over the different ministries within the Church. There are many points that divide people within the Church.
R. Of course, an armed conflict is also a source of division. Sometimes people find themselves in deep conflicts. I live in Moscow, in the largest parish of the Russian Orthodox Church, the cathedral parish, so perhaps it is not so visible; but in a normal Russian Catholic parish, which are often very small, these divisions can be disastrous for the community. That is why it is essential to accept the other, to be able to pray together despite differences of vision or opinion, and to understand that God is greater than what divides us. His love is greater, his plan of salvation is greater, and this applies to all of us. We are not different. He does not look at us with different eyes or with different attitudes. He wants to save us all.
All this is very, very important: it is not enough to accept it as an idea, but to take it seriously and look at others with God’s eyes.
Jean-Charles Putzolu, Vatican News
Religion Digital
English version translated with AI