Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Sister Lucia Murashko has remained in Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian city about 40 miles from the front lines. Facing multiple opportunities, and even encouragement to leave, she said she stayed to respond to what God told her to do.
Pope Francis, having not mentioned the war in Ukraine throughout his 5-day visit to Portugal, offered explicit prayers for peace in the country on his final day, while also telling young people they are signs of peace for the world.
As Russia fired missiles on several Ukrainian cities and Russian troops reportedly landed in Odessa, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church affirmed the right of Ukrainians to defend their homeland and assured his people that God would watch over them.
The major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church reiterated concerns of some of his Baltic neighbors, saying that Ukraine might be on the front lines of a Russian threat, but the threat extends beyond Ukraine.
Even as U.S. diplomats flee Ukraine amid the looming threat of a Russian invasion, Archbishop Borys Gudziak plans to follow through on a pre-planned trip and touch down in the Eastern European nation by week’s end.
Saying he was worried about Ukraine and how a possible Russian-Ukrainian conflict could spread, Pope Francis proclaimed Jan. 26 as a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine.
One year into the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Father Joseph Mussie Zerai is urging the international community to accelerate efforts to stop any risk of ethnic cleansing, avoid balkanization of Ethiopia and stop a food catastrophe underway.
After praying the Angelus prayer, the pontiff expressed concerns over increasing violence in Ethiopia amid reports that Tigray Defense Force rebels were approaching the outskirts of the country’s capital, Addis Ababa.
The injury and death of so many innocent people, especially children, caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is “terrible and unacceptable,” putting the area at risk of sinking into “a spiral of death and destruction,” Pope Francis said.
Bob Golden had a very successful business career as an executive with Prudential. Although he is now retired, he continues to be a major benefactor for diocesan charities. For instance, his support for The Cathedral Club of Brooklyn is evident by his presence each year at the annual fund-raising dinner.
