A close papal adviser has said that despite a spate of denials, the secret Vatican peace mission to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that Pope Francis referenced over the weekend does, in fact, exist and could yield results within a few weeks’ time.
Moscow is not working with the Vatican to end the war in Ukraine, said a Kremlin spokesperson.
While neither Hungary’s Viktor Orbán nor his most prominent guest this weekend, Pope Francis, have appeared anxious to play up their differences, there’s no getting around the fact that the two men represent contrasting versions of Christianity — one focused on identity, tradition and family values, the other on welcome, dialogue and the social gospel.
After a half-hour private meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis gave the prime minister of Ukraine a bronze plaque featuring a bird and a flower alongside the inscription, “Peace is a fragile flower.”
Russian forces have reportedly seized a Roman Catholic church in Ukraine, according to published accounts
A new report concludes that Russia is systematically persecuting believers of several faiths in Ukraine as part of a campaign of “cultural genocide.”
A broken rosary has become the inspiration to heal the war-torn nation of Ukraine, thanks to the efforts of a Philadelphia-area Ukrainian Catholic man and a dedicated group of volunteers.
Pope Francis has invited Catholics worldwide to renew the act of consecrating the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to Mary every March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.
As Ukraine faces the one-year anniversary Feb. 24 of the full-scale invasion of its country by Russian forces, Catholic Church leaders and providers of humanitarian relief there say the conflict has taken its toll but has not defeated the Ukrainian people.
Parishioners of a church that has been home to Lithuanian Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn for more than 100 years rolled out the red carpet for the president of their homeland on Sept. 20.
