Bishop Hryhoriy Komar: Words of Peace from Pope Leo XIV Resonate with New Vigor
In an interview with the television channel Suspilne, Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Apostolic Administrator for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Italy, described the meeting between Ukrainian delegates and Pope Francis and expressed his hope for the Vatican’s role in achieving peace for Ukraine.
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Bishop Hryhoriy noted that the Ukrainian delegation had the opportunity to attend an audience with the Pope during the celebration of the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches in Rome.
“For us Ukrainians—and not only Ukrainians, but also Eastern Catholics who came to Rome to celebrate the jubilee—it was a very beautiful day because we had the opportunity to receive an audience with the Holy Father,” Bishop Hryhoriy shared.
The Pope’s words about peace were especially meaningful for the Ukrainian delegation, which, according to Bishop Hryhoriy, were received “with deep sincerity” and became “words of great hope and great solace.”
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The Apostolic Administrator for the faithful in Italy noted that calls for peace have been a consistent position of Pope Leo XIV since the beginning of his pontificate: “Remember that these were his first words spoken from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election. He said, ‘Peace be with all of you.’”
Bishop Hryhoriy particularly emphasized the Holy Father’s vision of peace: “We were very keen to hear how the Pope described his vision of peace. He said that it is not the grave silence that ensues after a conflict. Peace can never be built on unjust foundations. It must be just and lasting.”
Bishop Hryhoriy added: “Now those words from the Vatican, uttered by His Holiness Pope Francis, sound with new vigor. Therefore, we hope that peace will come to Ukraine and that the Pope will make a significant contribution to this process.”
Regarding concrete steps by the Vatican in the peace process, Bishop Hryhoriy noted that work in this direction has been ongoing for a long time. “The Pope even appointed a special representative, Cardinal Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and entrusted him with the mission of returning Ukrainian children deported to Russia. And I am sure that this work will continue,” he said.
When asked about the Pope’s influence in resolving the conflict, Bishop Hryhoriy emphasized: “His authoritative voice is heard by a billion Catholics around the world. And I think that his voice will be much stronger than the voice of Russian propaganda, which is false and distorted. I think that honest people will find it much more important to hear what the Pope says than what those who seek to destroy us are saying.”
The UGCC Department for Information
