Pope Francis commented on the letter of Yuriy Pidlisny, head of the UGCC Commission for Lay and Family Affairs and head of the Department of Political Science at the Ukrainian Catholic University.
This was reported by Vatican News.
"I was under bombardment, and you did not close the sky above my head."
Such an impressive addition to Christ's words from the Doctrine of the Last Judgment was voiced on March 18, 2022, at the beginning of the meeting of the Holy Father's meeting with the participants of the Congress "Educating for Democracy in a Fragmented World", organized by the Pontifical Foundation "Gravissimum Educationis". It does echo with the Pope's prayer at the end of last Wednesday's general audience: "Lord Jesus, born under the bombing of Kyiv, have mercy on us."
At the beginning of the meeting, Monsignor Guy Real Thivierge, Secretary-General of the Foundation, read a letter from Dr. Yuri Podlisny.
Mr. Pidlisny thanked St. Peter's Successor for mobilizing the world to pray for Ukraine, for his gestures and appeals for peace. Looking at the thousands of dead and wounded civilians, hundreds of bombed schools, kindergartens, pediatric hospitals and shelters, Dr. Yuri Podlisny said that "looking into the eyes of these children, we can remember the words of Jesus Christ on practical solidarity and responsibility of every Christian." "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
He said, " These words of our Savior can be continued: I was under bombardment, and you did not close the sky above my head."
Your Holiness, I ask you to help stop the war with your prayers and your authority for the sake of the most vulnerable."
The Holy Father could not help but react to what he heard, so he shared some of his thoughts. The Pope said that we were "accustomed to hearing the news of wars", but this may have seemed a long way off, but today "war is near, it is practically in our home", which encourages us to think about the savagery of human nature, how far we can enter".
"We are talking about upbringing and education, and when it comes to upbringing, the thought comes to children and adolescents," he said, referring in this context to the many very young soldiers who are sent to the front, about youth and children who suffer from war.
"It simply came to our notice then. The gospel requires one thing from us: not to look away, which is the most pagan behavior of Christians. "A Christian, accustomed to looking the other way, is slowly becoming a pagan disguised as a Christian," the Pope said, emphasizing that war is not far off and requires an answer to the following question: "What am I doing?" Am I praying, fasting and repenting or am I living a carefree life, as if nothing is happening…"
"War is always, always a defeat for humanity. Always. For us - highly educated people working in the field of education, this war is a defeat, for we are also responsible. War cannot be just, they simply cannot," the Holy Father stressed.