Pope Francis has assured that the war in Ukraine has been fueled by "imperial interests", "not only of the Russian empire, but of empires elsewhere." This was stated in an interview with Swiss television RSI on the occasion of the ten years of his pontificate, which will be held on Monday, in which he also expressed that he is ready to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. .
“Putin knows that I am available. But there are imperial interests there, not only of the Russian empire, but of empires elsewhere. It is typical of the empire to put nations in second place ”, he maintains in the interview, announced today by some Italian newspapers.
As he had previously said, Francis has opined that we are currently experiencing a "Third World War." “It started in pieces, but now no one can say it's not global. The great powers are all mixed up. The battlefield is Ukraine. They all fight there. This suggests the arms industry. The war is fought, old weapons are sold, new ones are tested ”, indicates the Pontiff, who throughout these years has expressed his opposition to the arms industry on several occasions.
In the interview, the 86-year-old Argentine pope also said that he would resign from the pontificate only in the event that fatigue "prevents him from seeing things clearly" or in the case of a physical problem, as has been stated. at other times. “A tiredness that does not make you see things clearly. The lack of clarity, of assessing situations. Even the physical problem, it can be ", he explained, about the possible reasons that would push him to follow the example of Benedict XVI and take a step back in the future.
To do this, the Pontiff reveals that he always asks the people he knows, including some "intelligent cardinals", how things are going. "And they tell me the truth, continue, it's going well," he adds. "But please: shout on time", he asks them, to know the moment when he can no longer continue leading the Church. The Pope, who has had to resort to a wheelchair due to his knee problems, also confesses that at first "he was a bit ashamed" and that the knee was "a physical humiliation."
