Skip to footer

Pope Francis calls for 'constructive dialogue' in Ukraine

After urging an end to violence in Ukraine, Pope Francis and some children released two doves as a gesture of peace. The doves were attacked by other birds.

|
Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
Pope Francis watches as children release doves during the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican January 26.
  • By Associated Press

| Vatican City

Two white doves that were released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture have been attacked by other birds.

As tens of thousands of people watched in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, a seagull and a large black crow swept down on the doves right after they were set free from an open window of the Apostolic Palace.

One dove lost some feathers as it broke free from the gull. But the crow pecked repeatedly at the other dove.

It was not clear what happened to the doves as they flew off.

While speaking at the window beforehand, Francis had appealed for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have died. He called for "constructive dialogue" between Ukraine's authorities and its people, urging all to renounce violence in the upheaval convulsing their country.

Francis said he was praying for Ukraine, especially for those who have lost their lives in recent days. He appealed on Sunday for "the spirit of peace and the search for the common good" to prevail in the eastern European nation.

Weeks of protests have escalated into violent clashes between police and demonstrators angry that the government didn't sign a deal to bring it closer to the European Union and accepted Russian aid instead.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Pope Francis calls for 'constructive dialogue' in Ukraine
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0126/Pope-Francis-calls-for-constructive-dialogue-in-Ukraine
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe