Roman Catholic Bishops told the Pope about the war and invited him to visit Ukraine again

Ukrainian bishops of the Roman Catholic Church briefed the Holy Father on the current state of affairs in the state attacked by the war, reports CREDO with reference to Vatican News.

During the conversation, the hierarchs from Ukraine thanked the Pope for his prayerful closeness, efforts for peace and material solidarity on the part of the Holy See and the entire Catholic Church.

They invited the Pope to visit Ukraine.

Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki spoke about the meeting with the Pope:

"Today, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Apostolic See and Ukraine. This was very important for the state and the Catholic Church in Ukraine. During my meeting with Pope Francis, I would also like to thank him for his closeness to the Ukrainian people, to the Catholic Church in Ukraine, for his support, for his daily prayers — because he always talks about it, assures us of it. And also for all his speeches: either during audiences on Wednesdays or during the "Angel of the Lord" and other events — he always remembers about us, the suffering people, this very unfair and difficult war. And he assured us — me and Archbishop Jan Sobel, who came from Zaporizhia — that he is going through this very hard, that he is united with us every day, goes through this difficult time, these sufferings, and endures with us. With whomever he meets, he always talks about stopping this war and bringing the long-awaited peace.

I also thanked him for his humanitarian support — he helps Ukraine and the Catholic Church through Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, and this is very important because our people suffer a lot. Resources will be depleted, and there will be an even greater need for the whole world to help Ukraine.

I also invited the Holy Father to come to Ukraine again, and he said that he was thinking about it and it would probably happen sometime.

In conclusion, the Holy Father asked to convey his greetings, memory in prayer, and his apostolic blessing."

Bishop Jan Sobilo also shared his thoughts on this visit and the meeting with the Pope:

"I am pleased that I managed to leave and I got to Rome: to thank God for the guardianship of Ukraine, to thank Pope Francis, who has been reminding the whole world about the war for eight years, and especially after February 24 — during all audiences, the Pope speaks out about the unfair war. I am glad that I can be [in the editorial office] of Vatican Radio because your radio has been the only one that has informed about this war for eight years. The Western world would even be willing to forget about the war and not talk about it; but just as the Pope regularly reminds us, so Vatican Radio informs all people around the world about this situation. Therefore, I would like to sincerely thank you for what the Pope, Vatican Radio, and the Vatican are doing for Ukraine. The help for which I was responsible in 2016 — the "Pope for Ukraine" Initiative — was received by a lot of people in the territory that is temporarily occupied today.