The Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, who was kidnapped by Russian troops, witnessed Pope Francis' Easter Vigil at the Vatican

Pope Francis invoked “gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war” in a homily at the Easter vigil in St. Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three Ukrainian legislators.

The pontiff pointed out that while “many writers have evoked the beauty of starry nights, the nights of war, however, are crossed by streaks of light that portend death”.

Francis did not refer directly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce to achieve a negotiated peace. That call seemed in vain, as Russia resumed missile and rocket attacks on Kiev, western Ukraine and beyond, in a stark reminder that the entire country remains under threat.

At the end of his homily, the pontiff addressed the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, and Ukrainian legislators Maria Mezentseva, Olena Khomenko and Rusem Umerov, all sitting together in the front row.

“In this darkness of war, in cruelty, we are all praying for you and with you tonight. We pray for all who suffer. We can only give them our company, our prayer,” said Francis, adding that “the greatest thing they can receive: Christ is risen”, uttering the last three words in Ukrainian.

Fedorov was kidnapped and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic city in the south. After his release, Fedorov and lawmakers have been visiting European capitals to ask for more help for their invasion-ravaged country and met Saturday with the Vatican's number two, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

The presence of Ukrainian politicians comes a day after the controversy broke out on the night Way of the Cross around the Roman Colosseum because the Vatican organized two women, one Ukrainian and one Russian, to carry the cross at the penultimate station. This decision by the Vatican generated anger in the Ukrainian community, which again denounced the pontiff's lack of forcefulness in condemning the Russian offensive.

In fact, the Vatican head of state has been avoiding for more than 40 days directly condemning Moscow for the invasion and war crimes that accumulate daily, which has caused it to receive criticism from different sectors.

Days ago, The New York Times revealed that some of its own bishops and other supporters within the Roman Catholic Church want it to give names, and even warns that historians say that the pontiff risks slipping off his high moral ground and entering a murky space prominently occupied by Pope Pius XII, the war-era pope who avoided talking critically about Hitler and the Axis powers while Germany invaded Poland and eventually perpetrated the Holocaust.

“In many ways, the pope's current situation is reminiscent of the situation Pius XII faced,” assessed David I. Kertzer, a historian of the Vatican and Italy whose new book, “The Pope at War”, about Pius XII, Mussolini and Hitler, will be published in June. Kertzer explained that Pius XII also sought a balance between internal interests and the public demand to speak, as he resisted the great pressures to denounce Hitler. Instead, he used generic language about the horrors of war, which Kertzer said Francis was now echoing. “The position you are taking, or are not taking, is not without risk,” he said.

A recent editorial by the National Catholic Reporter, which is often sympathetic to Francis, urged the pope to draw Putin's attention. “Whatever is going on behind the scenes, it's time for Francis to tell the truth about the murderous assault on Ukraine,” he said, adding: “It's time to tell things as they are. This is Putin's war and it's evil.”

KEEP READING: