(Vatican Radio) At his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis called for peace in the
Ukraine: “With a worried soul I have been following what is happening in Kyiv in these
days.” The Holy Father assured the Ukrainian people of his closeness to them, and
prayed for the victims of violence, for their families, and for the injured.
The
Pope called “on all parties to cease all violence and to seek harmony and peace in
the country.”
Violence erupted on Tuesday in Kyiv as police and security forces
attempted to clear massive demonstrations against government corruption.
Ukraine
has been rocked by three months of protests that began in late November after President
Viktor Yanukovych turned away from a long-anticipated deal with the European Union
in exchange for a $15 billion bailout from Russia.