Although Pope Francis repeatedly has spoken out on behalf of the Ukrainian people, this was not the first time Ukrainian officials have been upset with Pope Francis for what they see as equating the actions of the aggressor with the victim.

For critics of the first Latin American pope, Francis’ recent expression of concern about the crackdown on Catholics in Nicaragua was too little too late.

The pope told the patriarch that “we are not clerics of the state, we cannot use the language of politics, but of Jesus.”

“Today, in a special way, six months since the start of the war, let us think of Ukraine and Russia, two countries I consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.... We need peace.”

“The life of the risen body will be a hundred and a thousand times more alive than we have tasted it on this earth,” Pope Francis said as he concluded his cycle of catecheses on old age.

At his Sunday noon remarks, Pope Francis described his worry and sorrow for events in Nicaragua. Police have detained several Catholic clergy in the country.