Pope Francis and Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy pray for peace

On the mark of six months since the Russian invasion, Pope Francis and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy prayed for peace in Ukraine.

Pope Francis prayed for Ukraine and Russia as he consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that "may she, as Mother, see these two countries—Ukraine and Russia—and may she bring us peace. We need peace."

At the conclusion of his general audience, the pope invited everyone to pray for peace from God for "the beloved Ukrainian people who have been suffering the horrors of war for six months now."

Pope Francis stressed the orphans, both Ukrainian and Russian while recalling war victims' deaths, the wounded, refugees, and war prisoners.

The pope said, "Orphanhood has no nationality, they have lost their father or mother, whether Russians or Ukrainians."

Pope Francis stressed the suffering of innocents as "paying for the folly of war" and called it "the madness, the madness on all sides—because war is madness." 

In an interview with Vatican Radio on the mark of six months after Russia's invasion, Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, said Ukrainian Catholics are praying for peace. 

The archbishop stated, "Our prayer for peace is also a prayer for justice."

He said that the Ukrainians are praying for the defenders of the innocent, for the refugees, the wounded, the orphans, and the widows, and also for the courage and wisdom of the leaders in government and in the Church, in Ukraine and internationally.

Archbishop Gudziak highlighted, "Prayer keeps our focus on the source of our life and on our destiny. If we know that we are called to eternal life, our fear drops."

He noted that "tens of millions" of non-Ukrainians responded in charity by helping the victims, welcoming the homeless, feeding the hungry, and drying the tears of those who were crying.

Ukrainians and many people all over the world were responding to this devastating war with love, hope, and faith in "God’s truth will always overcome" by standing up "to those who kill, to the marauders, to rapists, to those that torture."

The Ukrainian Catholics in the United States are responding on three fronts: prayer, information, and charity to the ongoing war.

"On the first front is prayer in our churches, in our homes, in our communities, and with Roman Catholics, Orthodox Protestants, Jews, and Muslims who have the goodwill to pray," Archbishop Gudziak described.

On the second front, the prelate said the diaspora Ukrainians are trying individually or structurally to inform the "immediate information" of Ukraine to American society and the Church in the United States.

Finally, Archbishop Gudziak lauded that Catholics in the United States have been "really generous" in responding to the humanitarian needs of Ukraine by donating over 100 million dollars, which "makes an incredible difference." - With input from Vatican News