COMECE delegation makes ‘solidarity visit' to Ukraine
Bishop Crociata and Fr Barrios Prieto visit a Ukrainian military graveyard
By Joseph TullochA delegation from the EU bishops' commission has returned to Brussels following a 'solidarity visit' to Ukraine.
The goal of the trip, Bishop Mariano Crociata said, was to 'witness first-hand the wounds inflicted upon this land and its people by Russia's brutal war of aggression'.
During the trip, the delegation, which was composed of three officials from the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), visited multiple charity projects and humanitarian organisations, attended the funeral of a soldier, and met with the heads of the country's Greek Catholic and Latin churches.
Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, COMECE General Secretary, spoke to Vatican News about the visit.
Q: Why did COMECE decide to make this trip to Ukraine?
Since the beginning of the war, the Commission has been very close to Ukraine and its people. There have been many statements by the bishops condemning this war of aggression by the Russian Federation. We've made many calls for a just peace and for an end to the war.
We've showed our closeness to Ukraine in many different ways. One important step is that we've invited representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and of the Latin Church into our plenary assembly as observers.
But also, from the beginning, we've wanted to go to Ukraine to give a sign of closeness to the people and the Church there, and hear from them what we can do to help them. The initial plan was an ecumenical trip together with the Conference of European Churches, but in the end that wasn't possible. So we wanted to at least meet with the Catholic Church in Ukraine, in the west of the country, and to experience what's happening there – to see the reality in the country with our eyes and touch it with our hands.
Q: What did you see? Of the things you saw, what made the biggest impact?
Many things. It was a short visit, but very intense. For example, we participated in the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier who had died at the front. It was very moving, because we were able to celebrate the funeral together with the Greek Catholic bishop, and the soldier's brother was there. We had a first-hand experience of what war means, the death and the suffering it causes. There were several injured soldiers at the funeral. We went to the military cemetery and saw how it's growing, saw the photographs of the young soldiers who've died.
We also met with people that are helping veterans and war victims and their families. We met people and that were helping veterans and helping victims of the war and their families. There was also an American woman at the funeral who approached a soldier and told him 'Thank you for fighting for our freedom'. That really touched my heart.
And finally, there was a moment when a soldier told us that he wasn't fighting just for Ukraine, but also for us, for the freedom of Europe, for democracy, and for international law. That was very powerful.
Q: What is the Catholic Church doing to promote peace in Ukraine, both at the grassroots and at the European level?
The Church is very, very active on the ground. It has centres to help veterans, widows, those suffering mental health problems due to the war, and it's doing a lot to promote reconciliation at an ecumenical level.
I would also say that the Church's activity as Church is extremely important. For example, at the funeral of this soldier, the sermon was based on Jesus' words: 'Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.' It was an incredibly moving homily, spoken to the family of a soldier who gave his life for others, and I think it's an example of the way the Word of God can give us hope and console us in difficult moments.
And then on a European level, as the Commission of Bishops Conferences of the European Union, I think we have the very important mission – as we were told when we were in Ukraine – of being witnesses to what we experienced there. We have the very important mission of advocating for a just end to this war, for peace, before the EU institutions. We have the mission of asking the EU to become a bit more active when it comes to promoting peace on an international level.--Vatican News
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