Pope Francis Wishes for Reconciliation between the Ukrainian and Polish People

After the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday, July 14, Pope Francis said that in prayer he is united with the participants of the memorial mass in the Lutsk cathedral for the victims of the Volyn tragedy, marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre.

He noted that such acts, which were “provoked by nationalist ideology in the tragic context of the Second World War,” caused not only the deaths of tens of thousands of victims, but also “inflicted a wound in the brotherhood between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples.”

“I entrust the souls of the victims to God's mercy, and for their peoples I ask for deep reconciliation and a peaceful future, in hope and sincere cooperation in jointly building a kingdom of God,” said the pope, Vatican Radio reported.