Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, Fr. Łukasz Bankowski – Vatican City
The Pope listened with great attention
“I have the experience that the Pope listened. He listened with great attention and received what I was saying,” reports Bishop Honczaruk. He presented to Leo XIV the situation of the diocese, which remains under constant attacks. The frontline running through its territory is – as the hierarch points out – about 800 km long.
The bishop also spoke about destroyed towns and people fleeing the war. “As a Church, we stand together with those who defend their dignity, independence, and life. We are a sign of God’s presence, that they are not alone,” he emphasizes.
He invited the Pope to Ukraine
The Ordinary of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia also conveyed to Leo XIV the desire for a papal visit to Ukraine. As he noted, it would be a great support for a “very wounded and suffering nation.”
“I told the Pope that there is no hatred among us. Our soldiers who fight for independence and the right to live, fight out of love for their loved ones, not out of hatred,” says the hierarch.
The Church stays with the people
The war has completely changed pastoral work. People of various denominations come to the churches: they look for conversation, prayer, and sacraments, but also medicines, food, or clothing. Many have lost their homes and loved ones, others do not know where their family members are.
“We, as priests, as the Church, are with these people. We can guarantee our presence one hundred percent,” says Bishop Honczaruk. He adds that in the conditions of war it is difficult to plan anything: “We live day by day. What will happen in an hour, we don’t know. But we stay here as long as we can.”
“I help because I am a Pole”
The bishop emphasizes that aid from Poland still reaches the diocese. He mentions, among others, Caritas Poland, diocesan Caritas, and the Knights of Columbus. The aid is smaller than at the beginning of the war, but – as he notes – it still gives people the feeling that the world has not forgotten about them.
He particularly remembered the answer of one of the Poles whom he thanked for supporting Ukraine. “He told me: ‘You don’t need to thank me. I help because I am a Pole. I am a Christian, that’s why I help.'”
“This built me up very much. This help flows from the nature of their heart, from the Polish heart,” says Bishop Honczaruk. And he adds: “Despite such a long time, these hearts do not stop burning. This is great courage and perseverance. Thank you very, very much.”
