Vatican, 25 January, 2023 / 1:48 pm (ACI Africa).
Meeting with an interfaith group representing Ukrainian churches and religious organizations today in Rome, Pope Francis expressed his support, calling their efforts a “concrete testimony of peace in a country suffering from war.”
The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) consists of 16 churches and organizations, including the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.
Since the start of Ukraine’s war with Russia, UCCRO has been leading efforts to help alleviate the suffering within the country.
Now, almost a year since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the war has resulted in nearly 18,000 Ukrainian civilians killed or injured, according to a Jan. 2 estimate by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“I give thanks to God because this meeting enables me, in some way, to have close contact with the Ukrainian people, who have always been present in my prayers during these months,” Francis told the delegation.
