At Russian border, Pope Francis denounces the "folly of war"

In his final act in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, before boarding a return flight to Rome, Pope Francis Thursday condemned the “folly of war” and urged global leaders to refrain from “aggressive and destructive” statements that harm peacemaking efforts.

Speaking on Thursday during the closing session of a Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan, the Kazakh capital, Pope Francis said, “Peace is urgently needed.” …

Though he made no specific mention of Putin throughout his Sept. 13-15 visit, the pope asked during a Mass for Kazakh Catholics, “What still needs to happen, and how many deaths will it still take, before conflict yields to dialogue for the good of people, nations and all humanity?”

In remarks seen as a rebuke of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has vocally supported the war on religious grounds, Francis in his opening address at the congress urged religious leaders to reject war, saying, “May we never justify violence. May we never allow the sacred to be exploited by the profane.”