Pope Francis has provoked fury by suggesting in a television interview that Ukraine should find “the courage to raise the white flag”.

"This injudicious comment reminded me instantly of the man once described as Hitler’s Pope," writes Tim Luckhurst, Principal of South College at Durham University in the UK.

"As Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli led the Catholic Church throughout the second world war. However, while Hitler’s determination to eliminate the Jewish people was brought to his attention, he did not publicly condemn it. Freedom of practice for German Catholics mattered more."