A new report concludes that Russia is systematically persecuting believers of several faiths in Ukraine as part of a campaign of “cultural genocide.”
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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.
Ukrainians facing their first Christmas at war with Russia are coping with frequent electricity outages, spotty cell phone service — and the worrisome sound of air raid sirens. Through it all, they cling to the hope that the light Jesus Christ brought into a dark world will shine on them.
The “human chain” in Williamsburg Sunday was the latest solidarity collaboration between Annunciation Roman Catholic Church, a Lithuanian parish, and Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church. The relationship began when Russian troops moved into the eastern European nation on Feb. 24.
Pope Francis said he is doing everything he can for Ukraine, saying the world was witnessing “cruelty.”
The only reasonable way to address the suffering of Ukrainians is to stop fighting and negotiate, Pope Francis said. Even during his busy six-day journey to Canada, “I did not cease praying for the suffering and battered Ukrainian people, asking God to free them from the scourge of war,” the pope said after praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square July 31.
Ukrainians will fight for their statehood to the last and will not stop until they liberate the last meter of Ukrainian land, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address for Ukrainian Statehood Day July 28.
Not only would it be a “disaster” if Pope Francis visits Russia before going to Ukraine, as the pontiff has said he’d like to do, but should that happen, Ukrainian borders actually could be closed to Pope Francis, according to the Latin Archbishop of Lviv.