• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • Advertising
  • CR Radio
  • Printing
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
The Caritas Ukraine office in Mariupol is pictured in a screenshot. In a statement published on its website, Caritas Ukraine said several people "were hiding from shelling and looking for a safe haven" in its Mariupol office when a Russian tank fired on the building, killing seven people. (CNS screenshot/Caritas Twitter feed)

Ukraine: Russian soldiers attack Caritas office, ransack seminary

April 13, 2022
By Junno Arocho Esteves
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Crisis in Ukraine, Feature, News, World News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Russian forces in Ukraine attacked a Caritas office in Mariupol and a Catholic seminary in a small village north of Kyiv, prompting renewed calls for an end to the war and to the targeting of innocent civilians.

In a statement published on its website, Caritas Ukraine said several people “were hiding from shelling and looking for a safe haven” in its Mariupol office when a Russian tank fired on the building.

“Seven people died, including two of our accounting staff,” Caritas Ukraine said. “Unfortunately, we do not have accurate information about the people who were in the office at the time, so we cannot say who was there that day.”

Caritas Ukraine expressed its condolences “to the families of our colleagues” and prayed for the eternal rest of “all those killed by Russian aggression.”

Although the attack was believed to have taken place March 15, “it has been known only in the past few hours” due to the “absence of communication and lack of access to the premises,” Caritas Internationalis said.

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and president of Caritas Internationalis, told Vatican News April 12 that he felt “deep sadness and shock at the news of the attack that led to the loss of lives.”

“Our sadness turns into an appeal to the international community to exert every effort to bring this violence to an end, to return to dialogue, and to see a brother and sister in every person,” the cardinal said.

Aloysius John, secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis, echoed Cardinal Tagle’s sentiments and said the news of the attack has left the “Caritas family horrified and shocked.”

“We join in grief and solidarity with the suffering of the families and our colleagues of Caritas Ukraine who are living a tragedy,” he said.

John also appealed for peace and said that “the ‘martyrdom’ in Ukraine, as Pope Francis has called it, must stop and it must stop now.”

“The international community must do the impossible to stop this massacre immediately. Peace must be given a chance. Armed conflict and violence are not the solution. Human lives must be safeguarded, and human dignity upheld. Safety of the civilians must be ensured,” he said.

News of the attack came several days after reports that Russian military forces also raided and ransacked a Catholic seminary in Vorzel, a village in Ukraine’s Kyiv Oblast.

After Russian military retreated from the area, Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi of Kyiv-Zhytomyr posted several photos of the aftermath on his Facebook page April 9, including broken windows and a statue of Mary with its head broken off in an apparent desecration.

Referring to the Russian military as “barbarians,” Bishop Kryvytskyi said money collected during Palm Sunday Masses in the diocese will be donated to the seminary.

“We will need the funds to renovate the premises and revive the life of the seminary for the good of the church,” the bishop wrote on Facebook. “Because Ukraine, which will be rebuilt after the war, will also need spiritual guides — priests. Pray that the Lord calls those he has chosen for this special ministry.”

In an interview with Vatican News published April 11, Father Ruslan Mykhalkiv, rector of the seminary, said the day after Russia began its attack in late February, he, along with the seminarians as well as two nuns and five children from a nearby orphanage, fled the area.

When he returned to the seminary, Father Mykhalkiv said he expected some external damage from bombs that had landed in the area.

However, he told Vatican News, “when we came back, we found everything wide open and, inside, we realized that it wasn’t just bombings.”

The military not only took basic items, such as pots, pans, wireless routers, computers and small tools, but also priceless liturgical items, including a silver chalice used by St. John Paul II during his visit to Ukraine in 2001.

“For us it was a kind of relic, we used it on big feast days,” Father Mykhalkiv said.

Food that was left in the pantry also was missing, but the rector said he believes the food was taken by neighboring residents which he said was “a good thing.”

“There was food here and people were hungry,” he explained. “Everything is closed; where could they get things?”

Father Mykhalkiv said that given the circumstances of the war, it was “only fair” that the neighbors took food from the seminary pantry when nobody was around.

“This is justified, but the rest, no,” he said, referring to the ransacking by Russian forces.

– – –

Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju

Read More Crisis in Ukraine

Don’t give up hope for peace, keep providing aid, pope tells charities

Pope appeals for peace in Myanmar, Ukraine

The spiritual and the human: Chaplains help Ukrainian soldiers with both

Service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral remembers victims of war in Ukraine

Superpowers at war add to the world’s poor, pope says in message

Martyred nuns beatified in Poland

Copyright © 2022 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Junno Arocho Esteves

Catholic News Service is a leading agency for religious news. Its mission is to report fully, fairly and freely on the involvement of the church in the world today.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

Latest Local News

RADIO INTERVIEW: The state of the nation

Archbishop William Lori announces clergy appointments, including two new pastors

Father Roach, noted church historian and longtime pastor, will stay active in retirement

Father Simmons retiring as the oldest active priest in the archdiocese

Father Ruane, known for empowering laity, retiring as pastor of Howard County parish

Latest World News

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in as Supreme Court justice

San Antonio archbishop asks church to be in solidarity with migrants who died in truck

Missionaries of Charity kicked out of Nicaragua

Catholics need better understanding of the Mass, pope says

Supreme Court sides with coach in public school prayer case

Catholic Review Radio

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • RADIO INTERVIEW: The state of the nation
  • Pretzels, treats and reflections during a staycation (7 Quick Takes)
  • When life gives you lemons, serve ice cream cake
  • Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in as Supreme Court justice
  • What would the baby choose?
  • MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Elvis’
  • Archbishop William Lori announces clergy appointments, including two new pastors
  • Father Ruane, known for empowering laity, retiring as pastor of Howard County parish
  • Spotlighting four Archdiocese of Baltimore Distinctive Scholars

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2022 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED