ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis acknowledged on Monday that his recent comments on Russia, seen by Ukraine as praise for imperialism, were badly phrased and said his intention was to remind young Russians of a great cultural heritage and not a political one.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane returning from Mongolia, Francis also said he wanted to assure China, with which the Vatican has difficult relations, that the Catholic Church has no ulterior motives and should not be seen as a foreign power.

“I was not thinking of imperialism when I said that,” Francis said about his comments last month.

In unscripted remarks to young Russian Catholics in a video conference on Aug. 25, Francis spoke of past tsars Peter I and Catherine II - both of whom expanded Russian territory - and told his listeners they were the heirs of the “great Russian empire”.