Pope Leo XIV Calls for Prayers for Ukraine and Condemns the Destruction of Churches and Cultural Heritage
On June 17, during a General Audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV voiced concern over the intensification of shelling in Ukraine, mourning the loss of innocent lives, the deaths of rescuers, and the destruction of churches and cultural heritage sites.
Vatican News reports this.
“Heartbreaking news is coming in about the war in Ukraine, which continues to escalate. There are many innocent victims, rescuers killed, and churches and cultural heritage sites devastated by fire. I stand in solidarity with those mourning their loved ones, with the wounded, and with those who, amid the violence, continue to courageously serve life,” said Pope Leo XIV, addressing the pilgrims.
The Holy Father also called for prayers for an end to the war: “Let us ask the Lord to open paths of dialogue, to extinguish hatred, and to make a just and lasting peace possible.”
The Pope’s appeal came after another wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine, during which the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was also damaged. On the night of June 15, as a result of a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, the monastery complex sustained damage, and a fire broke out on the roof of the Cathedral of the Dormition. According to experts, the restoration of the damaged sites could take up to two years.
The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations also condemned the Russian strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. In their statement, religious leaders emphasized that attacks on places of worship and cultural heritage sites constitute a crime against humanity, and called on the governments of democratic nations to intensify sanctions against the Russian Federation and all those involved in the aggression against Ukraine.
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Statement of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations regarding the Russian strike on the Kyiv pechersk lavra
The day before, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, responded to the damage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
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By Striking the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Russia Shows That It Is Not Rus’, and Kyiv Is Not Russian Territory, Says Head of the UGCC
Indeed, when the Lord God intends to punish someone, He deprives that person of sound judgment. With this attack, the Russian aggressor has shown that Russia is not Rus’; Kyiv is not Russian territory, and that the Kyiv-Pechersk tradition of holiness is not the history of Moscow’s piety,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
According to him, by attacking one of the most outstanding shrines of Kyiv Christianity, the Russian aggressor has in fact demonstrated its alienation from the spiritual tradition that it itself is trying to appropriate.
The UGCC Department for Information
