Ukraine’s Secret Service, SBU, announced suspicion against Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who, it said, “blessed the racists to kill Ukrainians.”
War in Ukraine
Wars in Gaza, Ukraine, ‘kill’ the future of children, pope says
The wars being fought in Gaza, Ukraine and other parts of the world are destroying the future of the children who live in those nations, Pope Francis said.
Ukrainian faith leaders say if Russia prevails, religious freedoms would be curtailed
If Russian President Vladimir Putin prevails in his invasion of Ukraine, religious freedom in the country would be curtailed, Ukrainian faith leaders said at a recent event at the United States Institute of Peace.
Pope Francis asks Mary to ‘convert those who fuel and foment conflict’
Pope Francis asked Mary to look mercifully upon the human family, “which has strayed from the path of peace,” and entrusted to her protection the world’s regions and nations at war.
Fate of two captured Ukrainian Catholic priests still unknown, says investigator
The fate of two Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests remains unknown almost a year after their capture by the Russian National Guard amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Forum 18, an Oslo, Norway-based news service that covers religious and intellectual freedom violations in several countries.
Synod prays warring nations will learn to listen, respect each other
Carrying candles into an empty St. Peter’s Basilica, participants in the synod on synodality prayed the rosary for peace Oct. 25.
Initiative urges pope to write encyclical on nonviolence; patriarch cites ‘horrors’ of war
Amid wars around the world, particularly in Ukraine and the Holy Land, the Catholic Church needs to speak out on nonviolence as a necessary option for any hope of peace, said a representative of Pax Christi International, urging the pope to write an encyclical on nonviolence and just peace.
Biden makes case for U.S. aid to both Israel, Ukraine amid ongoing conflict
Israel and Ukraine both face existential threats and deserve U.S. aid as they fend off conflict, President Joe Biden said in an Oval Office address to the nation on Oct. 19.
Russian attack on Ukrainian village shows ‘danger to the world at large,’ says archbishop
A Russian attack that killed one fifth of a Ukrainian village’s residents shows a danger Russia “presents not only to Ukrainians, but to the world at large,” a Ukrainian Catholic archbishop told OSV News.
‘Not soldiers but knights’: Catholic mother mourns son and ‘brilliant’ generation slain in Ukraine
The 27-year-old Ukrainian soldier, a graduate of Ukrainian Catholic University, was killed by Russian mortar fire in June 2022 during a battle in the region of Mykolaiv and Kherson, in Ukraine’s south.
Basilian Sisters given Catholic Extension’s top honor for ‘powerful witness’ amid peril in Ukraine
Catholic Extension has named the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great as the 2023-2024 recipients of its highest honor, the Lumen Christi Award. The Chicago-based nonprofit, which since 1905 has supported Catholic faith communities in the nation’s poorest regions, announced the decision in a Sept. 27 press release.
Ukrainian bishop tells Colorado organization prayer is ‘most important help’ for his country
Bishop Skomarovsky, Father Oleksandr Zelinskyi and Sister Kamila Fydryszewska were hosted by Catholic Outreach to Neighbors in Ukraine, or CONU, a Colorado Springs-based organization that has been working to provide emergency relief for the country.