“I personally call prayer ‘a most powerful weapon’, or rather omnipotent, limited only by our free will. This means that through prayer we not only invoke the heavenly gift of peace, but prayer itself – if it is sincere and not superficial – transforms us, inspires ideas and encourages action. I am convinced that man alone, politicians alone, are not capable of building peace, true peace”. These are the words of the Apostolic Nuncio in Kiev, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, who spoke to Sir today, three years after the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The nuncio referred to the words of Pope Francis, who mentioned Ukraine in the text of Sunday’s Angelus, published by the Vatican Press Office, during his stay in Gemelli Hospital. “In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This means being courageous and open to dialogue. Not to collaborate with ‘enemies’ in the reproduction of evil,” Msgr Kulbokas said, “as if our mission were to justify evil, or to say to the murderer: ‘You have killed one, here are two more to kill’”.
“What dialogue should we seek then? I think only God can tell us. This is the reason why faith and hope are our lights, our way”.
Today is the National Day of Prayer for Ukraine. It was the Verkhovna Rada that took the decision to establish it and celebrate it every year on 24 February, the anniversary of the large-scale Russian invasion. Bill No. 12457 was supported by 255 people’s deputies. However, on this anniversary Ukraine also embraces Pope Francis.
“One can say that there is a special ‘symbiosis’: the Holy Father is praying for Ukraine, and many people in Ukraine are praying for Him”, said the nuncio.
He added: “From what I’ve been able to sense, the illness of Pope Francis has genuinely shaken many people in Ukraine, despite the fact that everyone’s mind is inevitably preoccupied with the horrors of war. I have received expressions of closeness – truly sincere – from religious leaders (not only Catholics) and from representatives of civil authorities, including high-ranking ones”.
Msgr. Oleksandr Yazlovetskiy, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr and President of Caritas-Spes, also responded to Pope Francis’ appeal for the “tormented” Ukrainian people on this third anniversary. “His closeness and his words,” the bishop told SIR, “are for us a sign that we are close to his heart and mind. Even in the circumstances in which he finds himself, he has remembered us. But today we want to tell him that we too are close to the Holy Father and we pray for him, for his health”. Mgr Yazlovetskiy also recalled all the help that the Pope, the Holy See and Card. Krajewski, has reached the Ukrainian people during these three years of war. “In this way, Pope Francis has also shown that it is not enough to help with words, but that words must be followed by deeds. We are very grateful for all the help we have received, especially through the Caritas Internationalis network. Only God knows how many people have been inspired by the words and actions of Pope Francis and have acted, prayed for us, sent money and help, initiated projects and helped people. We are grateful to him”. Regarding the aid received, the Caritas-Spes president says: “We are grateful to all the people who have been close to us all this time. Nobody expected this war to last so long. And it was perhaps for the best. Because if we had known, we might have been discouraged. Instead, we took it one step at a time. There has never been a shortage of people and help on this journey and for this we are grateful”. Referring to the peace efforts being made on several fronts, the Bishop said: “You can feel in the air that the war is slowly coming to an end, despite the fact that we are being bombed with intensity, that soldiers are dying at the front and that we are continuing to fight”.
“But our hope is that this war will end, and that it will end with a just and lasting peace. Much, too much, time has passed”.
