A woman wears a Ukrainian national flag during a rally outside the Ukrainian Consulate in Toronto Feb. 22, 2022. Pope Francis expressed "great sorrow" over the situation in Ukraine and called on Christians to observe a day of prayer and fasting for peace on Ash Wednesday, March 2. (CNS photo/Nick Iwanyshyn, Reuters)
WASHINGTON — As war broke out in Europe Feb. 24, with Russia’s early morning attacks on various parts of Ukraine, Catholics in the U.S. joined Pope Francis in prayers for the people of the East European nation and for peace. “We join @Pontifex in calling on all people of goodwill to pray for the people of #Ukraine and for an end to war,” said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a tweet, hours after Russia launched rocket attacks into Ukraine and followed the aggression with a mobilization of troops and tanks into Ukrainian territory. News reports showed bombarded apartment buildings and towns and abandoned cities. Some reported at least 40 casualties, others said they numbered in the hundreds early Feb. 24. The only thing for certain, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, is that “peace our continent has been shattered.” Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, like many in the U.S., seemed to be ending Feb. 23 with news of the initial attacks on Ukraine, which took place early Feb. 24 local time in that country. Also of interest... Via Twitter, at Mass and in prayer, U.S. bishops unite behind Ukraine WASHINGTON (CNS) — For some U.S. prelates, such as Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, New York, the Feb. 24 news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit close to home. As he began the homily for the first Mass of the day at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, Ukraine was on his mind. He offered the day’s prayers, not only for those in Ukraine, he said, but also “for people from our own diocese here in Brooklyn, from the Ukrainian community, we join with them.” U.S. bishops, like much of the world, focused on the East European nation Feb. 24. Some condemned the actions of Russia, others expressed worry about the consequences on civilians and what the future brings. Though messages differed, they seemed to be largely united behind Ukraine. Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a Feb. 24 statement on behalf of the country’s bishops, encouraged Catholics to join Pope Francis’ call to prayer and fasting to bring an end to the conflict. “In times of trouble, we call on the tender mercy of God ... to guide our feet to the way of peace,” he said, recalling words from the Gospel of Luke. “May our prayers, joined with those of people around the world, help guide those waging war to end the meaningless suffering and restore peace. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us.” On March 2, Ash Wednesday, most dioceses will take up the USCCB’s the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which includes Ukraine. By and large, prelates took to Twitter to express themselves. “Let us pray for the people of Ukraine as the guns of war approach,” tweeted Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas. “Men, women, children and families will suffer as this unfolds and most will be powerless. Let us pray that their neighbors will support them and that this violence will end quickly. Let us pray.” Like Bishop Strickland, some conveyed their concerns for the well-being of civilians; others offered solidarity; and some seemed to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions. “Pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray for the conversion of leaders that abuse people’s rights,” tweeted Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio. “There are individuals that are about control and sickness. Let’s pray for them too. A rosary helps.” Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania, spoke of Ukrainians as they “confront forces that challenge their freedom, security and peace.” Bishop Michael J. Sis of San Angelo, Texas, called for the respect of human rights, as well as for Ukrainians as they “see their homeland become a war zone,” he tweeted. Bishop Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo, Michigan, tweeted that as the world awakened to the reality of war, “may the world truly ‘awaken’ to the evil of all war, and the sinfulness of violent aggression.” Some, like Auxiliary Bishop Mark W. O’Connell of Boston, retweeted a poignant screenshot of a group kneeling in prayer on a street in Ukraine after being invaded by Russia. “I join my prayers to the prayers of the people of Ukraine,” the bishop tweeted above the image. Almost all directed their dioceses to the Catholic Church’s teachings on peace. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, said that “we must always reject war as a political solution and propose honest and respectful dialogue among nations as the only way forward.” Cardinal Cupich tweeted a statement that said he had requested prayers for peace in Ukraine be added to all Masses in the Illinois archdiocese. “Most of us know war in Europe from the stories of our parents and grandparents, from history portrayed in films and books,” he said. “This attack on a peaceful, sovereign nation is a sad reminder that the work of peace is never over. “Please pray with me for the safety of all now under fire and for those in other nations fearful the war in Ukraine may overspread their borders.” Before his final blessing at the morning Mass in Brooklyn, Bishop Brennan, too, asked for prayers so that the situation “does not escalate.” “We just intensify our prayers because, quite honestly, that’s who we are,” he said. “We turn to the Lord and we show that dependence, as a light to the world, as salt to the earth.” “Friends as we go to bed in central Illinois tonight, the people in Ukraine awake to war,” Bishop Tylka tweeted around 11:30 p.m. (CST). “Let us pray for peace! Let us pray for an end to war! Let us pray that conflict can be resolved by dialogue — not violence! Lord we pray — bring peace to our troubled world.” Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, in a Feb. 24 statement recalled a 2019 visit to Lviv, Ukraine, to present an award to Archbishop Borys Gudziak, now head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, for his “leadership of the first Catholic university established in the territory of the former Soviet Union.” Father Jenkins said that during the presentation of the award, he “spoke of the innumerable challenges in a society traumatized by war, genocide and political oppression and of the efforts of Archbishop Gudziak and his colleagues to bring to Ukraine healing and hope.” Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, under whose rule it suffered a famine that led to millions of deaths, voted for independence in 1991. In a Feb. 23 interview with Relevant Radio, Archbishop Gudziak explained how Russia’s Vladimir Putin sees Ukraine as part of its territory, fomenting separatist movements in the country as he sought to absorb it. But the archbishop called it a “ridiculous distortion of history and a negation of the human dignity of Ukrainians. Basically saying ‘you don’t exist, you didn’t exist. ... We’re going to use force and subdue you.’” He also spoke of what he sees as the consequences for people of faith. “The sad story for Ukrainian Catholics is that every time Russia takes over some part of Ukraine where the Ukrainian Catholic Church exists, sooner or later, whether it’s within a month or a year or 10 years or 20, the Ukrainian Catholic Church is simply obliterated,” he told Relevant Radio. “And this will be the case for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which also endured great persecution, and for other people of goodwill who want to express their spiritual lives, their culture, use their language,” Archbishop Gudziak said. “It’s really devastating.” Notre Dame’s Jenkins said the former oppressors of Ukraine were now known by another name “and are waging war under a different flag, but the trauma is no less today than in the past in this nation that has suffered far too much.” “Our friends in Ukraine are in need of healing and hope,” he said in his statement. “We at Notre Dame stand in solidarity with all peace-loving people worldwide in demanding an end to this invasion of a sovereign nation. This unprovoked war is an international abomination and must stop now.” “Until it does,” he said, “may God keep safe all of the innocent men, women and children who are currently in harm’s way. The prayers of the Notre Dame family are with them.” Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, New York, said the world was “again seeing the face of evil.” He called all in his diocese to pray for Ukraine and reminded Catholics of Pope Francis’ words: “to pray is to protest war in front of God. Never stop asking the Lord with faith and insistence for the end of conflict.” He said the Albany Diocese would fervently pray for the intercession of Mary Immaculate, to whom it consecrated, “that this military action quickly ends, that causalities are limited, and we pray for the repose of the souls of those who have been killed and those who will no doubt lose their lives in the coming days.” The Catholic organization Pax Christi USA in a statement condemned the invasion and urged “influential voices within the U.S. Catholic community to refuse to beat the drums of war.” Pax Christi also urged the international community to look to dialogue to solve the conflict and refrain from a military response. “It should not be lost that in addition to Russian aggression, the expansion of NATO with the proliferation of bases, the continued manufacturing of weapons of war, and the reliance on security upheld by military power has played a significant role in the events building up to this current crisis,” Pax Christi said. “This war is additional evidence of the failure of policies predicated on the threat of violence to deliver the peace and dignity the human family deserves,” it added. - - - Contributing to this story was Carol Zimmermann
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