‘World War III has been declared’<\/b><\/h1>"},"content":{"rendered":"
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‘World War III has been declared’: Pope Francis says global conflict has started and suggests war in Ukraine was ‘perhaps in some way provoked’ as he denies being pro-Putin and slams ‘cruel’ Russian troops<\/h2>\n
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Francis made the comments last month with the transcript being revealed today<\/strong><\/li>\n
He controversially\u00a0suggested Putin’s invasion was ‘in some way provoked’<\/b><\/li>\n
But he also decried Russian forces for their brutality, and the use of mercenaries<\/b><\/li>\n
He said the war in Ukraine, along with other conflicts around the globe,\u00a0means ‘World War III has been declared’. This, he said,\u00a0is a ‘calamity’ for humanity<\/b><\/li>\n
Ukraine and the West say the war is an unprovoked act of aggression by Russia<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n