The Church, field hospital

There is no peace in Ukraine. Despite diplomatic efforts and the Minsk and Minsk 2 agreements, armed strife continues and death toll is rising. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, spoke of the suffering of the Ukrainian people, providing the figures of the conflict. Although UN official documents show that the war has already caused one million displaced persons, according to unofficial figures, 2 million people are fleeing from the Crimea and the Donbass in search of a safe place. Among them, there are at least 140 thousand children. To date there have been 6 thousand deaths and 12 thousand wounded. Doors open to the displaced. In Donetsk people are without food and Caritas’ is working at full speed. All parishes and monasteries in the country have opened their doors to the displaced. For these people Caritas often becomes the only “way of life”. Sviatoslav Shevchuk shared his concerns during a meeting with the press at the end of the one-week Ad Limina visit marked by meetings in the Vatican to bring Ukraine in the heart of the Catholic Church. “Using the words of Pope Francis – he said – our Church has become a field hospital”. Eighty per cent of Ukraine’s population is actively engaged in volunteer work but “our efforts are not enough” and often what is done in Caritas and parishes “is a drop in the ocean of human suffering”. For this reason the archbishop made and appeal to the international community to undertake a humanitarian action in the Country in favour of refugees. “Here the truth is killed”. Modern wars are called “hybrid” because they simultaneously take place at different levels, and given the complexity of situations it’s easy to fail to pursue responsibilities, causes, as well as possible solutions. Before leaving the press conference the archbishop Shevchuk said: “Truth is the first victim of a hybrid war. Be witnesses of the truth”. And the “truth” that Ukrainian bishops have brought to Bergoglio is that what Ukraine has been going through in the past hours is a “foreign invasion, a war imposed from outside” the country. It isn’t a civil war: it’s an undeclared, unexpected war”. Christian, Jews and Muslims at risk. Even the situation of religious freedom is “flawed” and at risk. “The Tartar Muslim brothers in Crimea” has to flee from persecutions. Also the Jews in Donetsk have fled from the Donbass region since they were forced to register as Jews as pay a tax, a sad reminder of the procedures under Nazism. As regards the Catholic Church, 5 parish churches in Crimea have received a request to renew the authorization to remain by March 1st, with the risk that it might be rejected. Also in this case, it’s a procedure that winds the clock of history several decades backwards. “Indifference kills”, Shevchuk said. I’m asking all of you: don’t be indifferent to what is happening in Ukraine. Sooner or later this war will affect us all. If we fail to stop it, tomorrow you will all suffer in all the Countries”. “How do people live?” Pope Francis carefully follows the conflict. Past Friday Ukrainian bishops – in the Vatican for the Ad Limina visit – have shared with him “our pains and joys”. “The Holy Father Shevchuk said – has listened to us with a paternal heart. He then asked to speak with the bishops of Donetsk and Crimea. He wanted to know all the details, he asked about people’s living conditions. He also wanted to know about how our Orthodox brothers are managing the situations. We felt welcomed and encouraged”. Speaking about the Pope, on several occasions Shevchuk used the term “to console”. “Two phrases – he added, have struck us in particular: ‘I will be near your side, I am at your service”.