The Australian Conference of Catholic Bishops is taking place in Sydney on May 4-11. This time, one of the most important topics was the war in Ukraine. Bishop Mykola Bychok, Diocese of Melbourne, dedicated his address to the story of the Redemptorist Fathers captured in Berdiansk, the opposition to the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the text collection to support refugees.
This was reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
The topics of the working sessions were reports of various commissions of the conference, canonical issues, including but not limited to Catholic education in educational institutions, Christian unity and interfaith dialogue, challenges for the Catholic Church due to sexual abuse, the doctrine of morality, quarantine, emphasis on the Catholic family and the example of parents in raising children, evangelization and participation of the laity in the life of the Church, liturgical issues. For the third time, the topic of the war in Ukraine was touched upon.
On May 9, Bishop Mykola Bychok addressed the Catholic bishops with a special address on the war in Ukraine, saying: "First of all, I thank you for the unique opportunity to once again convey the truth about the war in Ukraine at the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference. The last time I addressed you was on November 9, last year, on the 259th day of the war. Today is the 440th. I want to tell you about the ministry of priests during the war, as well as about the Christmas collection for humanitarian aid to the victims in Ukraine."
The bishop told the story of his fellow Redemptorists, Fr. Ivan Levytsky and Fr. Bohdan Geleta, and their pastoral ministry in Berdiansk during the war. To this day, they are still in captivity of the occupiers.
The bishop also spoke about the "occupation" of the spiritual heritage of Ukraine by the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Summarizing, the Bishop of Melbourne noted that thanks to the pre-Christmas collection to support refugees in Ukraine, 428,358.41 AUD was sent to the Patriarchal Foundation "Wise Cause". In the end, the bishop added: "I ask you to continue praying and fasting for peace in Ukraine in your dioceses. I encourage you to do works of mercy that will help us heal the wounds of war."