Ukrainian Catholic bishop is sheltering with Orthodox counterpart in besieged city, says charity

CNA Staff   By CNA Staff

 

Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk, Latin Rite bishop of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, Ukraine. / Youri melnik via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Kharkiv, Ukraine, Mar 1, 2022 / 04:30 am (CNA).

A Ukrainian Catholic bishop is sheltering with his Orthodox counterpart in the besieged city of Kharkiv, a Catholic charity said on Monday.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported on Feb. 28 that Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk, the Latin Rite bishop of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, had “spent the past days in a bunker with several families, as well as with his Orthodox counterpart.”

Russian forces have advanced on Kharkiv, which has a population of 1.4 million people, since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

According to media reports, the Russian bombardment of the city in northeastern Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of civilians, including children.

ACN said that it had received a message from Honcharuk, a 44-year-old who was appointed a bishop by Pope Francis in January 2020.

He said: “I wish for this war to end as quickly as possible. But while evil has shown itself to be so strong, this has also exposed a lot of good. In a way, the evil we are experiencing also squeezes the good juice from the grape, and that good juice is our compassion, mutual support, and love. It shows our true faces.”

“My message is short because we are under constant bombardment, and I am a little nervous, but we try to act normally. God bless you!”

Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine after the capital, Kyiv. The Latin Rite Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia was created in 2002 and is centered on the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kharkiv. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins in western Ukraine.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Posterrr via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Posterrr via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ukraine, an Eastern European country of 44 million people, is predominantly Orthodox Christian.

Eastern Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are divided between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is affiliated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Most Catholics belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. A minority of Catholics are Latin Rite.

ACN, a pontifical foundation established in 1947, is sending $1 million in emergency support to Catholics in Ukraine.

Expressing his gratitude to the charity, Honcharuk said: “We are really surprised and very grateful for the mobilization of so many people, not only all over Ukraine, but also abroad.”

“I would like to especially thank the donors who, through ACN, fulfill their calling to show mercy and love. I sincerely thank you all, the whole of the ACN team, all employees, volunteers, and donors.”


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 10092 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

2 Comments

  1. Good article, but note there are two greek catholic churches in Ukraine. The larger Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, and the smaller Ruthenian Catholic Church.

Leave a Reply to Jason Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*