By Matthew Trojacek
CATHOLIC PRIEST FROM UKRAINE GIVES POPE FRANCIS CROSS MADE OUT OF WAR RUBBLE
Father Vyacheslav Grynevych, Catholic priest from Ukraine gives Pope Francis cross made out of war rubble
Father Vyacheslav Grynevych vividly remembers the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine one year ago.
The Catholic priest woke up to a phone call: “Father, wake up because the war has started.”
“I understood that my life would never be the same as before,” Grynevych said.
As the executive director of the Catholic charity CaritasSpes, Grynevych soon found himself coordinating humanitarian efforts from a basement bomb shelter in Kyiv, also taking in 36 other people, mostly children, and their pets within the first week of the war.
A few days ahead of the Ukraine war anniversary, the Catholic priest was able to speak one on one with Pope Francis at his Vatican residence to share with the Pope updates on the Church’s humanitarian efforts on the ground.
In an emotional moment during their meeting, Grynevych presented Pope Francis with a cross made out of broken glass and rubble from destroyed buildings in Kyiv.
“I wanted to share with him the stories, the places that we see, the eyes of people,” Grynevych said.
In an interview with CNA in Rome on February 22, the priest shared that he saw how much the Pope was pained to hear about the experience of Ukrainians during the last year of war.
“He [Pope Francis] listened and then he said, ‘Please tell everybody that I try to do everything that I can do, everything that I can do.’ And he repeated this a few times.” (CNA)
POPE FRANCIS UNDERLINES “UNIVERSAL VALUE” OF JERUSALEM IN SPEECH TO PALESTINIANS
Pope Francis underlined the “universal value” of Jerusalem in a meeting with members of a Vatican-Palestinian interreligious dialogue group on March 9.
“Jesus wept over Jerusalem,” the Pope said in the Apostolic Palace. “We should not pass over these words in haste. These tears of Jesus should be contemplated in silence.”
“How many men and women, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, have wept and in our day continue to weep for Jerusalem. At times, we too are moved to tears when we think of the Holy City, for she is like a mother whose heart cannot be at peace due to the sufferings of her children,” he continued.
The papal audience was held with representatives of the Joint Working Group for Dialogue between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Palestinian Commission for Interreligious Dialogue. (CNA)
GREEK PATRIARCHATE DECRIES “ATTACK” AT JERUSALEM CHURCH
The Greek Orthodox Church on March 19 denounced what it called a “heinous terrorist attack” on a church at the Tomb of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem.
Israeli police had said earlier in the day that a 27-year-old resident of southern Israel had been arrested over “a violent incident” at the church in annexed east Jerusalem, without providing further details on the suspect’s identity.
The Greek Orthodox Church said it “denounces the attempt to cause physical harm to Archbishop Joachim, who was leading the service, as well as the attack on one of the priests in the church.”
In a statement, it called for “international protection of holy sites.”
“Terrorist attacks, by radical Israeli groups, targeting churches, cemeteries, and Christian properties… have become almost a daily occurrence that evidently increases in intensity during Christian holidays,” it said. (UCANews)
ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL OF PRAGUE: “UKRAINIAN AUTHORITIES ARE GOING TO CRUCIFY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST”
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia published on March 29 an address of Archbishop Michael of Prague, who expressed on behalf of his diocese a protest against the actions of the Ukrainian authorities towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The text of the address is available at the UOC External Relations Department.
In his address, Archbishop Michael stated, “Fateful events are taking place in Ukraine as the Ukrainian authorities are going to crucify the Church of Christ.”
“The faithful and clergy of the Orthodox Diocese of Prague are looking at it with concern and sorrow in their hearts.
“For us the Ukrainian people are a fraternal people.
“That is why the beginning of the war echoed with pain in the soul of every believer of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands, and our diocese has immediately joined the actions to give spiritual and material aid to refugees,” the hierarch stressed.
“While so many disasters have fallen to the lot of the Ukrainian people, for the Ukrainian authorities it was not enough, and they have launched a crusade against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has culminated in the banishment of the monks from the Kiev Lavra of the Caves,” the letter reads.
Archbishop Michael assured the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that “the Orthodox Diocese of Prague is lifting up prayers” and expressed a protest “against the Ukrainian authorities’ violations of the rights of the clergy and faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.” (Mospat.ru)
BARTHOLOMEW TO POPE FRANCIS: THE WORLD IS IN NEED OF YOUR SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew sent a heartfelt fraternal message of support to the ailing Pope Francis, who was in the hospital for three days at the end of March.
In his message, the Ecumenical Patriarch wished the Pope a speedy restoration of his health and a return to his duties as soon as possible, especially in view of the Holy Week of the Roman Catholics.
“The world is in particular need of you and your spiritual leadership, and for this reason prays fervently for you,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said. (OrthodoxTimes)
PRO-LIFE MARCHES HELD THROUGHOUT ROMANIA AND MOLDOVA
More than 1,000 localities participated in the pro-life marches held throughout Romania and Moldova
The marches held on March 25, coinciding with the new calendar feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, were the culmination of the 13th annual Month for Life.
More than 1,000 localities participated in the Month for Life this year, reports the Basilica News Agency.
“Everything we do today will lead to results for another generation, for the children of today’s generations, for the children of these children. Someday, abortion will become unthinkable,” said Teodora Diana Paul, president of Students for Life Bucharest, reflecting on the theme of this year’s march, “The Future is Pro-Life.”
Patriarch Daniel of Romania issued a blessing and pro-life message on the eve of the March, saying: “Although today’s society is experiencing a crisis of birth and family, this crisis cannot be stronger than the blessing of God the Creator, Who told the first family, Adam and Eve: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it! (Gen. 1:28). In Jesus Christ, the birth of infants is God’s blessing given to humanity, not only to rule the earth, but also to acquire the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the gift of earthly life is also a call to eternal heavenly life in the Kingdom of God.” (OrthoChristian)
ANTIOCHIAN CHURCH SAVING ICONS FROM RUBBLE OF EARTHQUAKE-TOPPLED CHURCHES
The Antiochian Patriarchate is still hard at work dealing with the tragic consequences of the earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria in early February.
On March 15, the Patriarchate published photos of holy icons being recovered nearly unscathed from the rubble of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Arsuz, Turkey, and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Antioch, Turkey.
Thousands of people lost their lives, and countless buildings, including many churches, were destroyed or severely damaged.
The Church’s relief service, GOPA-DERD, has been busy identifying needs and gathering and distributing food, clothing, bedding, and other necessities. (OrthoChristian)
CARDINAL KOCH IN SLOVAKIA FOR ANNIVERSARY OF ANTI-COMMUNIST PROTESTS
Cardinal Kurt Koch was in Slovakia from March 27-30 for the anniversary of the anti-Communist Candle Demonstration.
The protest, organized on 25 March 1988 by Catholic dissident František Mikloško, was the first mass public expression of resistance to Communism in former Czechoslovakia since the 1960s, and was widely seen as a forerunner of the following year’s Velvet Revolution, which brought the 40-year-long dictatorship to an end.
During his visit, Cardinal Koch, who is head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, met with religious leaders from Slovakia’s various Christian churches, including Metropolitan Ratislav, the Primate of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church, as well as with political figures, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger among them. (VaticanNews)
Facebook Comments