Pope defends Ukraine's churches amid new law tensions

Pope Francis said on Sunday that no Christian church in Ukraine can be "overthrown." During a meeting with the faithful in Vatican City, he referred to the decision by authorities in Kyiv to ban activities of religious organizations connected to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Addressing the faithful gathered for the noon Angelus prayer, the Pope said: "I continue to follow with sorrow the fighting in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. And in thinking about the laws recently adopted in Ukraine, I fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for all."

"A person does not commit evil because of praying. If someone commits evil against his people, he will be guilty for it, but he cannot have committed evil because he prayed," said the Pope.

He then added, "So let those who want to pray be allowed to pray in what they consider their Church. Please, let no Christian Church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!"

Francis said these words a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law banning activities of religious organizations connected to the Russian Orthodox Church.

On Saturday, the law "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations" came into effect. This regulation bans the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and related religious organizations in Ukraine, the dissemination of the ideology of the so-called "Russian World" and, in particular, the use of religious organizations to promote the Kremlin's geopolitical concepts.

Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the Pope also expressed solidarity with thousands of monkeypox patients. He emphasized that this virus is already a "global health emergency."

"I pray for all the infected people, in particular the population of Democratic Republic of Congo, so affected, I express my closeness to the local churches most touched by this disease. I encourage governments and private industry to share the technology and available treatments so that nobody lacks adapted medical care," said Francis.

He also addressed the people of Nicaragua, where the Church has been persecuted for a long time.

"I am following closely, with concern and sorrow, the situation in Nicaragua, which involves both people and institutions. Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Most Pure, to inspire such a concrete will in the hearts of all," said the Pope, praying for the protection of the Virgin Mary.