ROME (CNS) – The Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Kyiv-Halych and the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See said they had received information that Russia planned airstrikes on the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv.

Not only is the cathedral holy to all Slavic peoples, but it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cathedral has religious significance for the Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholics. Its construction was begun in the 11th century, several hundred years before Ukrainian Catholics declared their union with Rome and broke union with the Orthodox.

A Rome spokesman for Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, major archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic church, said church officials had received intelligence about the airstrikes. He said Archbishop Shevchuk called on all Christians to pray for the site and “calls upon the aggressor to refrain from this most horrific act of vandalism.”
“May St. Sophia – the wisdom of God – illumine those who have considered committing this crime,” Archbishop Shevchuk said.

The Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See tweeted out the information from “intelligence data” and said in all caps, “We appeal to the Russians – do not commit the crime.”

The March 1 warning came as Russia began airstrikes against Kyiv and warned residents near Ukrainian security services to evacuate their homes.

Nicholas Rudnytzky, professor of history and dean of academic services at Manor College in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, spoke to catholicphilly.com about the importance of the cathedral.

“St. Sophia is a testament to Ukrainian national consciousness and spirit,” he said.

He noted that given its prominence in the history of Orthodox Christianity as well, “it is the symbol of all Christianity. No Orthodox faithful of any kind would ever contemplate such an act, which is unthinkable.”

Rudnytzky said if this intelligence is true, “Putin is betraying his hand here and trying to do what the Soviets couldn’t. This (would not just be) an attack on Western civilization, but a specified attack on Christianity.”

(Contributing to this story was Gina Christian in Philadelphia.)

By Jonathan Luxmoore
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – Catholics in Russia have been left “grieving, angered and bewildered” by their country’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the church’s spokesman, who also warned that citizens would face harsh economic consequences from the conflict.

Father Kirill Gorbunov, spokesman for the Russian bishops’ conference, said many Catholics are angry “and don’t know where to direct this anger – some are turning it on God, on the church, on the Russian government and on the world.”

“While some Catholics are reacting as if none of this affects them, some discussion groups formed as part of the church’s synodal process have now come together for mutual support in the current state of grief, anger and bewilderment,” said Father Gorbunov, who is also vicar general of the Moscow-based Mother of God Archdiocese.

“It’s obvious this situation will have very, very severe consequences for the well-being of citizens here. Our most important task as priests is to remind people of the church’s teaching on war and peace. But we must also be very attentive to the most vulnerable – the elderly, sick and poor – and act as counselors, helping people react in a meaningful, prayerful way which leads to integrity rather than madness.”

Detachments from Russia’s invasion force, amassed in border regions since last fall, attacked Ukraine in the early hours of Feb. 24, triggering harsh resistance from Ukraine’s 200,000-strong armed forces and a huge refugee exodus, as well as sharp fall in Russian currency, the ruble. On March 1, Russian troops continued to pound Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and a 40-mile column of Russian tanks and vehicles was reported to be within 20 miles of Kyiv.

In a Feb. 24 pastoral message, Russia’s five-member bishops’ conference said it was “deeply shocked” that war had erupted “despite huge efforts at reconciliation,” and the bishops backed the pope’s appeal for March 2, Ash Wednesday, to be marked by “intense prayer and fasting for the sake of saving human lives.”

They also asked priests to celebrate Masses “for the preservation of peace and justice” and called on fellow Christians “to resist lies and hatred, and be a source of reconciliation.”

“This confrontation brings death and destruction and threatens the security of the entire world,” the bishops said.
“The peoples of our countries are united not only by a common history, but also by a great common suffering that befell us in the past because of the madness of war. … Let our contemporaries know they will have to give a strict account for the military actions they have taken. The course of coming centuries largely depends on their current decisions.”

As the war progressed, Russian Catholic churches held peace prayer vigils. The Saratov-based St. Clement Diocese began a nine-day adoration of the Blessed Sacrament March 1.

Moscow Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, president of the bishops’ conference, circulated a “prayer for peace and fatherland,” to be read at Masses. It calls for Catholics to “be able to see a common future,” while also shunning “lies that destroy the world.”

Father Gorbunov told CNS Russia’s bishops had based their message on the church’s dogmatic constitution, “Lumen Gentium,” and were “expressing church teaching, not just their own opinion.”

“We’ll see if they wish to expand on this in coming days, but I personally think things are changed not by statements, but by the change of heart people experience during prayer, thinking and talking,” he said. “In normal everyday life, people don’t always understand what’s going on. But when they start to pray, they understand the terror, find compassion and see the necessity of doing something.”

“Like many ordinary people, I’m no expert in predictions – the decision-makers will get what they deserve, and I hope it won’t be the worst-case scenario for either Ukraine or our country,” he said.

Prayer for Ukraine

God of infinite mercy and goodness, with grateful hearts we pray to you today for peace. You offer us your peace continually (Jn 14:27) and constantly remind us that peacemakers are blessed, “for they shall be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9) May your voice resound in the hearts of all, as you call us to follow the path of reconciliation and peace, and to be merciful as you are merciful.

We pray to you for the people of the Ukraine who are experiencing conflicts and deaths. Bless the leaders with wisdom, vision and perseverance needed to build together a world of justice and solidarity, and to break down walls of hostility and division.

To you we entrust all families and pray that they may never yield to discouragement and despair, but become heralds of new hope to one another in this challenging time.

May you continue to inspire all of us to oneness of heart and mind, to work generously for the common good, to respect the dignity of every person and the fundamental rights which have their origin in the image and likeness of God impressed upon every human being.

Grant eternal rest to the dead and quick recovery to the wounded, we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen!

(Prayer adapted from: Pope JPII’s Prayer for Peace, shared by St. Stephen Pro-tomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church, Calgary)

By Catholic News Service
WARSAW, Poland – Church leaders in embattled Ukraine have warned that foreign missionaries could be targeted by attacking forces, while many could be branded “NATO spies” if Russia occupies the country.

“Clergy from Western countries will certainly be at risk – the Soviet rulers viewed priests and nuns as Vatican spies, and now they’ll be spies of NATO and the European Union,” Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia told Catholic News Service March 3.

“Judging by what’s happened in other occupied areas, we can also expect restrictions on Masses and other activities. By defending Ukraine, we are also defending the Catholic Church,” he said.

A Polish priest in Kharkiv said he also feared repression against foreign clergy, especially those from Poland and other NATO countries.

“We were all given a free choice to leave or stay by our bishops – and while a few have had to go, almost everyone else has remained,” Father Wojciech Pasiewicz, director of the church’s Caritas Spes charity in the partly destroyed eastern city, told CNS March 3.

“Given the restrictions and controls placed on freedom and democracy in Crimea and other regions, we can clearly expect the same here and anticipate real dangers from the Russians,” he said. “But what matters now is that this war ends, and people are allowed to return to their homes and churches.”

“We are simply praying and doing all we can to stay in touch with our faithful, while many hide out in parish basements,” Father Pasiewicz told CNS. “The children are terrified, and there’s fear and panic everywhere, with some still hoping to be evacuated. We should all be praying for peace and mourning the dead, uniting in hope that this will all end today or tomorrow.”

Bishop Sobilo told CNS the civilian population had now mobilized to defend the country. He said many Russian soldiers appeared “disorientated and demoralized” by the fierce Ukrainian reaction, but feared being shot if they attempted to surrender and withdraw.

Hundreds of Polish priests and nuns have helped run Catholic parishes and charity projects since Ukraine’s 1991 independence and are currently stranded in its eastern and southern war zones.

Polish Father Piotr Rosochacki, who heads Caritas-Spes on the Black Sea, told the Polish Catholic news agency KAI the situation was growing “increasingly desperate,” adding that “all principles for waging war” had been violated in the bitter fighting.

Meanwhile, the Caritas director in Mariupol, Father Roscislav Spryniuk, told KAI attacking Russian troops had fired on residential areas, adding that shops and cashpoints were now empty.

Bishop Sobilo told CNS some Polish clergy had been forced to leave for health reasons or a lack of relevant documents, adding that he had ordered one priest to quit his parish, unwillingly, fearing harm from Russian troops.

However, he added that the “decisive majority” had remained in place, helping people who had fled other cities.

“In Russia itself, the Catholic Church isn’t well regarded and has continual problems,” he told CNS. “So we can be sure we’ll find ourselves in a very difficult, bad situation if we’re occupied.”

Russia’s forces, amassed in border regions since last fall, invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, triggering harsh resistance from the country’s 200,000-strong armed forces, as well as a sharp fall in Russia’s ruble currency amid Western economic sanctions and pledges of military assistance.

Russian troops continued to close on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, March 3 as tens of thousands fled the fighting and Western governments backed an investigation by the International Criminal Court into alleged war crimes by invading forces.

Shelling damaged the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral in Kharkiv, reportedly with windows and other decorations broken, The Associated Press reported March 3.

In his national address that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to restore Kharkiv’s cathedral.
“Even if you destroy all our Ukrainian cathedrals and churches, you will not destroy our sincere faith in Ukraine and in God,” the president told Russians.