Lithuania: Foreign Ministry summons Vatican envoy after Pope praises Russia

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has invited the Vatican’s representative in Lithuania for a conversation after Pope Francis gave statements praising Russia, BNS reports. Speaking online to a group of Catholic Russians in St Petersburg, Pope Francis said that they were “heirs of the great Mother Russia” and of an “empire of great culture and great humanity.” Ukraine accused the pontiff of spreading Russian “imperialist propaganda” amid the continued destruction of Ukrainian cities and villages. Meanwhile, Russia welcomed the Pope’s remarks.