Lithuania summoned the Vatican’s top diplomat in the Baltic country after Pope Francis told Russian youths to remember they are the heirs of “the great Russian empire”.
The primate of the Roman Catholic Church uttered this remark – which was not part of the written text – during a homily to Catholic young people at a gathering in St. Petersburg that was boradcast live on Friday.
In response, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – a country where the vast majority of its inhabitants are Catholics – invited the Apostolic Nuncio to have “a discussion” after the return of the archbishop from the holiday, a spokesman for the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The Vatican said yesterday that Pope Francis had no intention of praising Russian imperialism in his homily. However, he praised the Russian emperors Peter the Great and Catherine II who expanded the Russian empire in his homily.
The territories of Lithuania and Poland were annexed to the Russian Empire in the 18th century by Catherine II. The countries broke away from the Russian Empire after the First World War, following two revolts in the 19th century against the empire.
Francis’ intention was “to preserve and promote everything positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage,” the Vatican noted.
Ukraine, which was once part of the same empire, stressed that the pope’s remark was “extremely regrettable.” The Kremlin spoke of “very pleasant” statements.
Lithuania, with a population of 2.8 million, three-quarters of whom identify as Roman Catholics, is a fierce critic of Russia and a supporter of Ukraine. They are in favour of Ukraine joining both the European Union and NATO.
The Catholic Church continues to be respected in the country for its anti-communist, pro-independence stance during the time the Baltic country was part of the Soviet Union. During this period, the Vatican maintained the Lithuanian diplomatic representation in the Holy See as it did not recognize the annexation.
Pope Francis officiated in front of about 100,000 people in Lithuania during his visit in 2018.
