In its second appeal to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, the World Council of Churches asked that he use his spiritual authority to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine over the Eastern Orthodox Easter season so that believers will be able to celebrate the holiday in peace.
Representatives of both the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have condemned the destruction of churches and religious sites in Ukraine and have asked Russia to refrain from targeting them.
As Russia wages war against Ukraine, and China continues to threaten Taiwan, what might a new cold war mean for the Church, and how relevant are past papal diplomatic approaches?
At the start of Holy Week, Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for an immediate ceasefire to the war in Ukraine, saying Easter is a time to choose life over death.
Videos of dead Ukrainian civilians, many apparently executed by Russian troops, are further evidence that “the struggle of Ukraine is a spiritual struggle against evil, against the devil and his servants,” said Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych.
Lacking documents, fearing violence, and needing a host country, many Roma fleeing Ukraine are not able to leave temporary shelters, said two human rights experts in Poland.
Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan told Pope Francis that the Catholic Church in Poland is continuing its efforts to assist the countless refugees from Ukraine fleeing Russia’s destructive war in the country.
Pope Francis renewed his call for an end to the war in Ukraine and strongly denounced the conflict as a barbaric act used by those in power at the cost of innocent lives.
A Catholic bishop in the threatened Ukrainian port of Odessa warned of “ferocious resistance” if Russian forces launch a frontal assault.
Catholic leaders warn the exodus of Ukrainian women and children presents a prime opportunity for human trafficking, and they are taking steps to protect the refugees.
