In addition to praying for Ukraine, Pope Francis stated he is working behind the scenes to assist the suffering Ukrainian people.
“I unite spiritually with your suffering, assuring you of my prayers and involvement, which, considering the current situation, do not appear in the media,” the pope said in a July 11 letter to bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
“I pray that your Church and your People, who are animated by the power of the sacraments and look to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, do not lose Christian hope in a better tomorrow.”
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and the bishops of the Church received a letter from the pope while they were assembled in synod from July 7 to 15.
There are now about 51 bishops in the synod of the sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite. They provide pastoral care all throughout the world, especially in the United States and Ukraine.
The gathering this month is being held in Przemyl, a city in southeast Poland that is only nine miles from the western border with Ukraine and 60 miles from Lviv.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the start of the war almost five months ago, the synod was scheduled to take place in Kyiv, the country’s capital.
Pope Francis said “the Synod of Bishops dedicated to the theme of ‘Synodality and Universality: experience of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’ must have as its goal the good of the Church and each believer.”
“Moreover,” he advised, “it must be a place of meeting and mutual help on the common path of life, in the search for new means of accompanying the faithful.”
He cited the example of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church martyrs of the 20th century, who were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 while visiting Lviv.
“But at this very moment we better understand the circumstances under which those martyrs lived and died, among whom were bishops, priests, monks, and nuns and the lay people who became victims of the Soviet communist regime,” he said. “Today, from heaven, they defend their own suffering people.”
“To their care I entrust all the Members of the Synod,” he said.