By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY – While the Vatican has decided to include both Ukrainians (and Russians) in Pope Francis’ Way of the Cross procession, it caused tension with Ukrainian Catholic leaders. They want the decision to be reexamined.

Each year, the Via Crucis is an annual event at the Colosseum that includes the 14 Stations of the Cross. They are the stages between the execution of Jesus and his burial. This is often customized so that the people carrying the cross are able to reflect current events.

In this year’s evening candlelight service, a Ukrainian family will be joined by a Russian family to carry the cross at 13th Station. It is a memorial of Jesus’ death and burial.

“I consider such an idea inopportune, ambiguous, and such that it does not take into account the context of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of Ukraine’s Byzantine-rite Catholic Church.

Text of meditation for the 13th Station speaks about reconciliation and reconstruction following bombings.

“OFFENSIVE” TEXT

Shevchuk is currently in Kyiv, and invited the pope there to make a visit.

He claimed that he had asked Vatican for review of the decision.

Shevchuk’s Rome Office stated in an accompanying statement that many Ukrainians believe gestures to reconciliation will only become possible when war ends and the crimes against humanity are properly punished.

Andrii Yurash (the Ukrainian ambassador to Vatican) tweeted that he understood Shevchucks concerns and was working closely with Vatican to “explain the difficulties in its realization and any possible consequences”.

Francis has not mentioned Russia explicitly in his prayers since the beginning of war. He did mention it during an international event for peace on March 25, however. However, he expressed opposition to Russia’s actions using the terms invasion, aggression, and atrocities.

Moscow refers to the actions in Ukraine as a “special army operation”, not intended to occupy any territory, but rather to demilitarise or “denazify” it.

Kremlin claims that allegations Russian troops executed civilians in Ukraine as war crime were made to denigrate the Russian army.

Many Russians, Ukrainians and other Orthodox Christians are Orthodox Christians. Easter this year will fall one week earlier than Western churches.