The Easter crusade through the streets of Rome on Good Friday is a very important part of the Vatican’s holy week. The procession is led by the Pope. The two women who were found carrying the cross together were nurses and they worked together in a hospital in Rome.
Both Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, and the Archbishop of Kyiv, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, believe that the decision was inappropriate as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. They don’t like the symbolism that goes with it.
Yurash has stated on Twitter that he understands and shares concerns in Ukraine and many other places that the two will carry the cross together.
He said he was working on the case and trying to explain the problem and possible consequences of such an action.
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Ambiguous signal
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who heads the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, also condemned the decision.
“I consider this an inappropriate and ambiguous signal,” said Shevchuk, adding: “The fact that Russia attacked Ukraine militarily has not been taken into account.”
Shevchuk also disliked the words in the prayer the Vatican said would be recited while two nurses held up crosses. The prayer reads as follows: “We want our lives to return to the way they were before. Why all this? What did we do wrong? Why did you leave us? Why did you disappoint our people?
The Vatican has explained that the prayer was written based on the experiences of the families of Russian and Ukrainian women, whose families also plan to participate in the procession.
– The words combined with this crucifixion are incomprehensible and even offensive, Shevchuk believes.
Priests, not politicians
The Vatican has not commented on the criticism, but close associates of Pope Francis have defended the decision.
“It is important to understand one thing, and that is that the pope is a priest and not a politician,” Spadaro told Italian radio station RAI this week.
Spadaro believes that the image of two women carrying crosses together seems outrageous because they represent what now seems unattainable: namely peace.
REQUEST FOR A GRACE: Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine this Easter – as the beginning of lasting peace and an end to the use of arms. Here from a Palm Sunday ceremony. Photo: Gregorio Borgia / AP / NTB
sea view
The two women said in an interview with Italian state TV earlier this week that they were pleased with the task assigned to them in the procession. They emphasize their good friendship.
The Pope has criticized war
The pope made no mention of the controversy during a public hearing on Wednesday, but said he sees “today’s aggression as an offense against God.”
Also in his speech in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, he clearly criticized the war.
The pope urged a ceasefire in Ukraine and condemned what he called the war against defenseless civilians who suffered “horrific massacres and heinous atrocities”.
– Let the truce begin with Easter, but not to reload weapons and continue the fight. A truce to achieve peace through real negotiations, the pope said.
The Pope also previously condemned attacks on civilians in Ukraine. After civilians were found dead in the streets of the city of Butsja outside Kyiv, he called the killings a massacre. He also said he was ready to travel to Kyiv if he could help create peace
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