Nine months after Russia started the war, the Pope wrote a letter to Ukrainians | Tech Reddy

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Nine months after Russia launched a war against Ukraine, Pope Francis in a letter to the Ukrainian people expressed his admiration for their country’s loyalty and courage in the face of so much death and destruction.

“In this sea of ​​evil and sorrow – 90 years after the terrible genocide of the Holodomor, I admire your good passion,” the Pope wrote in a letter on November 24, not more than nine months after the start of the war. as well as the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, a famine orchestrated by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians.

“Despite the great tragedy they are going through, the Ukrainian people have never lost heart or compassion,” the pope wrote. “The world recognized a brave and strong people, a people who suffered and prayed, mourned and fought, resisted and hoped: a noble and martyred people.”

Pope Francis has assured Ukrainians that he will always pray for them, that they will be publicly aware of their plight and that they will know that they are not alone, and that people around the world will continue to support humanitarian aid for them.

Kyiv-Khalych Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on November 7, said he was grateful for the letter, which was in response to his request for a “paternal gesture” from the Pope. the love and closeness of the church to the Ukrainian people.”

“Although the high representatives of the aggressor state deny the right to life, identity, language and church of the Ukrainian people, the pope addresses this people, recognizes them and admires their resistance,” the archbishop said.

In his letter, Pope Francis acknowledged how people have been living with “the terrible sound of explosions and the terrible sound of sirens” since Russia went to war in late February, and how many people, especially women and children, have been forced to flee. .

“Your cities are being bombed because the rain of missiles brings death, destruction and sickness, hunger, thirst and cold,” he said. “Through thy great rivers daily flow rivers of blood and tears.”

“I want to join your tears and tell you that there is not a day that I do not leave you in my heart and in my prayers,” he said. “Your pain is my pain.”

“Today I see you on the cross of Jesus, those who are threatened by this aggression,” he wrote. “Yes, the cross that tortured the Lord lives again in the tortures found in the corpses in the mass graves found in various cities, in those and many other bloody images that enter our souls and make us cry out: “Why? How can they treat others like this?’

Pope Francis, who is in regular contact with the bishops of Ukraine and the ambassador to the Holy See of Ukraine, and met with representatives of the Ukrainian government and wives of Ukrainian soldiers, told specific stories he had heard.

“First, the little children: how many children died, were injured or became orphans, lost their mothers,” he wrote. “I cry with you for every little child who died because of this war, like Kira in Odesa, Liza in Vinnytsia, and hundreds of others: in each of them, all of humanity has been defeated. .”

Pope Francis also named children who were forcibly taken to Russia, according to reports and humanitarian organizations. The Pope described them as “deported” and noted that with deaths, deportations and displacements, “the suffering of Ukrainian mothers is infinite.”

Addressing the youth of Ukraine, the Pope said he knows that “in order to courageously defend your homeland, you need to take up arms instead of your dreams for the future.”

Pope Francis also called for “priests and religious who, being close to the people, bring God’s consolation and the solidarity of your brothers and sisters, turning public places and monasteries into places of refuge, where they can offer hospitality, relief and food to those in trouble.” praised. conditions”.

Praying for Ukraine’s political leaders, the Pope noted their burden to govern “in times of sorrow” and “make visionary decisions for peace” and rebuild the country and its economy, especially in Russia. A large part of the country’s infrastructure is targeted, in particular, its electricity network.

Pope Francis knows that suffering can increase as winter gets colder, but he also said it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace, and prepare for Christmas.

“May he fulfill the just hopes of your hearts, heal your wounds and comfort you,” the pope said.