Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, around 3.9 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border.
ZAKOPANE, Poland — Poland’s Catholic bishops said Tuesday that many Ukrainians “will not be able to survive” without continued help.
In a message issued June 7, after their plenary meeting in Zakopane, southern Poland, the bishops said that the response of Poles to the arrival of more than three million refugees from Ukraine “deserves to be recognised”.
“They ask everyone to continue helping and showing generosity to our sisters and brothers who are still suffering because without help many of them will not be able to survive,” the Bishops said.
Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, around 3.9 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border. Although the war continues, many Ukrainians have decided to return home.
A delegation of Polish bishops visited Ukraine from May 17 to 20. They met with lay people and Church leaders in the capital, Kyiv, and also traveled to the formerly occupied towns of Irpin and Bucha to pray for the Ukrainians who were murdered there.
“The bishops are moved by the cruelty of war, which makes many people suffer; and the experience of violence, which destroys human lives, homes, life plans and dreams,” they said in their June 7 statement.
The bishops called for a “systematic approach” to help war victims in Poland and Ukraine, saying “it is necessary for state institutions, local governments, NGOs and parishes to work together” .
During their plenary meeting, the bishops also discussed issues related to catechesis for children and adults, the synod on synodality and the conclusion of the Amoris Laetitia family year.
The gathering took place on the 25th anniversary of the visit of Saint John Paul II to Zakopane, a popular resort at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. During a mass, the bishops asked the Polish Pope to intercede for Poland in difficult matters and entrusted all Poles in the country and abroad to his intercession.
