“The role of a chaplain in time of war”: Father Andriy Zelinsky spoke to military chaplains in Italy
On October 15–19, the annual formation course for military chaplains of the Military Ordinariate of Italy was held in Assisi (Italy) and at the invitation of the military ordinarian, Archbishop Santo Machiano, Fr. Andriy Zelinsky, S. J., Deputy Head of the Department of Military Chaplaincy of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC, made a speech to the military chaplains of Italy.
Fr. Andriy Zelinsky said this in a post on his Facebook page.
The annual congress and formation course, which more than 200 chaplains attended, was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Pope John XXIII encyclical Pacem in terris.
Fr. Andriy Zelinsky’s presentations were devoted to analyzing the role of the military chaplain during the war and considering the current situation in the world in the context of the proposed criteria in the papal encyclical.
“Our world needs peace. Today, perhaps more than ever. And peace needs our sincere prayers. However, sometimes even more than our prayers, peace requires us to have the courage to recognize how little the world has done to protect it, and how even today some people are afraid to seek truth and defend justice,” Fr. Andriy noted.
He also shared with the Italian chaplains his insights into the general context in which military chaplains currently serve in Ukraine. According to Fr. Andriy, the encyclical “Pacem in terries” text allows looking at the challenges faced by the Ukrainian people and the whole of humanity in the context of God’s Revelation and the Catholic Church’s teaching on just peace.
“The words of Scripture and prayer, the Sacrament of Penance, or even a sincere conversation that begins with a humble wish to listen and hear can start the journey of personal healing. The human heart and the protection of humanity itself in a brutal war is the battlefield of a military chaplain today,” said Fr. Andriy.
The audience was particularly impressed by Freedom on Fire, a documentary about the first months of Russian troops’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine directed by Yevhen Afinievsky, which has already been presented at leading international film festivals.
