The leaders of prestigious newspapers and politicians have harshly criticized Pope Francis because he implied that NATO's eastward expansion may have contributed to the conflict in Ukraine. Some suggest that it's time for people to quit the Church, others says they came close to losing their faith due to the pope's statement.

Pope Francis has recently given an interview to an Italian paper, in which he also spoke about the war between Russia and Ukraine. Responding to a question, he remarked that „maybe it was NATO barking at Russia’s gate that compelled Putin to unleash the invasion of Ukraine.” This remark triggered a huge backlash among well-known journalists and leading politicians. Michael Roth, the chairman of the foreign committee of the German parliament, wrote on Twitter: „Oh my God, one can only shout. … Unfortunately, such absurd opinions also exist in my evangelical church.”

Der Papst ist auch nicht mehr das, was er mal war. Oh mein Gott, kann man da nur rufen. Das wäre Karol Wojtyla sicher nicht passiert. Aber solche absurden Meinungen gibt’s leider auch in meiner evangelischen Kirche. Lost! https://t.co/vsypFZ2Rk8

— Michael Roth MdB 🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@MiRo_SPD) May 4, 2022

CDU representative Christoph de Vries also harshly criticised Pope Francis’s words. De Vries opined that the pope was wrong as the NATO could not have any influence on the war in Ukraine. „Putin bit without NATO barking,” de Vries wrote, adding that the pope could have chosen his words more carefully.

Ich bin mir sicher, dass sich Papst Johannes Paul II. im Sinne der #Freiheit in diesen Tagen gänzlich anders geäußert hätte. Als Katholik befremden mich die Äußerungen von Papst Franziskus. #Putin hat zugebissen, ohne dass die NATO gebellt hat.

— Christoph de Vries (@VriesChristoph) May 4, 2022

The deputy editor-in-chief of Bild, one of Germany’s biggest daily newspapers, also took to Twitter to express his views. Paul Ronzheimer wrote that he was deeply disappointed with the church leader and his comment, and went on to say outright that he thought he should leave the Church. As he put it, „The Church is a huge disappointment. When the Russians tried to encircle Kiev, the Pope didn’t dare to visit the city. Now he wants to meet Putin first, and blames NATO for the war. The only option is to leave.”

Kirche ist Riesen-Enttäuschung. Als Russen Kyiv einkesseln wollten, hatte d Papst zuviel Angst, in die Stadt zu kommen. Jetzt will er Putin zuerst treffen, gibt der NATO eine Mitschuld am Krieg. Die evangelische Kirche warnt derweil vor Waffenlieferungen. Bleibt nur ein Austritt.

— Paul Ronzheimer (@ronzheimer) May 4, 2022

Michael Brocker, editor-in-chief of ThePioneer news portal, has a similar opinion, claiming that Pope Francis’s words make it very difficult for him to follow Christian values, and accusing the Pope of not condemning Russian aggression. „It’s so bitter. Someone invades a country, slaughters families, children, spreads lies and hatred, and what happens? The Pope makes a call to request an audience. I’m finding it hard to love my neighbour,” he wrote on his social media .

Es ist so bitter. Da überfällt einer ein Land, metzelt Familien, Kinder ab, verbreitet Lügen und Hass und was passiert? Der Papst klingelt durch und will eine Audienz. Das mit der Nächstenliebe finde ich allmählich schwierig. #Putin #Papst

— Michael Bröcker (@MichaelBroecker) May 3, 2022

Pope Francis, however, is not the first to say that NATO’s eastward expansion has contributed to Russia launching an invasion of Ukraine. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic also stressed that NATO’s further expansion to the East can be interpreted as some type of attack, and that – as long as he is the head of state – he will not support Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.