The Bishop of the Latin diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporiyia (Ukraine), Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk, said that the Catholic faithful are frequently receiving the sacraments because they know that they can die at any moment, because of the bombings.
“I know I won’t have time to hear the missile hit me, and so when I hear an explosion, I know I’m still alive. We are prepared to die suddenly and unexpectedly, and that means that we often receive the sacraments, especially that of confession,” said the Prelate.
Speaking to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Honcharuk said that five months after the start of the Russian invasion, the Catholic Church in Ukraine “remains alive and active.”
“The priests and the faithful are at their posts, the prayer continues, as does the daily liturgical celebration in the parishes; more in some than in others, depending on the place, where there is war activity or in occupied territories that possibility does not exist, ”he indicated.
“However,” he added, “our Church continues to serve the people, the elderly and children, in addition to helping the soldiers who defend our homeland.”
The cities are subjected to constant bombardment. The Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporiyia is located in eastern Ukraine, so the nearly 1,000 km of the war front runs almost entirely through its diocese.
The Prelate said that the situation in the city “is constantly changing.” “There are bombings before lunch, after lunch, and at night. We are very close to the front line: twenty kilometers,” he indicated.
The Bishop said that “about 15% of the city is destroyed. They are irreparable damage. However, the city’s infrastructure works and can withstand the stress that is experienced.
“The factories and companies that can continue to work while others have completely relocated to other Ukrainian cities. Hospitals and municipal services also continue to function, ”he indicated.
However, he pointed out that “the situation of each family and each person is different. If the house is not damaged, you have a place to live, and if you have a job, you have income. On the other hand, if the house is destroyed, one has nowhere to live, and if one’s place of work has been destroyed, one is left with no income. And if he is wounded on top…”.
“Sometimes,” he said, “people only have what they were wearing, because everything burned with their house. Therefore, there are people who need clothes, others need shoes or medicine or food, others a place to stay, and others moral support. Others need someone to take their family to a safe place. There are many problems and much to do.”
Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk expressed that “all this suffering generates a feeling of helplessness because it overwhelms you. Evil is so great and so cynical that it topples the great of this world from their thrones. It is very easy to trigger wars, they break out easily, but how to stop them?
“On the other hand, there are also great signs of God’s presence in the midst of the turmoil of war, in the hearts of people who are serving in various places as soldiers, doctors, firefighters, policemen, and others.”
“When we look at the faces of these people, we witness the great divine power of love with which God inspires them,” he said.