Pope Francis has come in for a lot of international criticism for his call for negotiations with war-torn Ukraine.
Now he is receiving support from Italian peace movements.
In a letter published on Thursday, 26 pacifist organisations thanked the head of the Catholic Church for speaking openly about the "courage to negotiate".
At the same time, they expressed their "sincere sympathy for all the opportunistic criticism".
The letter, published in the newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano", is addressed for information to US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
There is no mention of a Russian addressee. Instead of listening to the papal call, representatives of governments "involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war" prefer to "continue to incite the 'martyred Ukrainian people' to fight to the last man and supply them with ever more sophisticated armaments", according to the representatives of the initiatives.
Instead, these governments should favour a ceasefire and create conditions for negotiations "that examine the reasons on both sides and lead to a joint solution".
The signatories are sure that their words reflect the feelings of many citizens who are desperate in the face of the tragic events.
In a recent interview, the Pope had urged Ukraine to "have the courage to raise the white flag" and to negotiate under international mediation.
The comments were interpreted by many as a call for capitulation and were met with outrage, particularly in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.
Francis was also criticised in Germany and other NATO states.