As 20 people were killed in a Russian air strike on a military base near Lviv this morning, the president of Caritas Ukraine has warned of a “colossal humanitarian catastrophe”.
Tetiana Stawnychy expressed pride in Caritas volunteers who “look to the need of the most vulnerable, while managing their own circumstances as well”, as she expressed concern that Ukrainian families would need access to emergency food, water, and shelter.
The UN estimates that four million people may flee Ukraine in the coming weeks as the plight of civilians continues to worsen and charities across the world appeal for support.
She thanked the organisations providing aid to refugees. “We are grateful for the outpouring of support from our partners and people of good will from abroad,” she said.
In the UK, Cafod has joined the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, providing assistance through its partners in Caritas Internationalis.
Cafod has reported a generous response from its donors and volunteers. Its director of fundraising, Jo Kitterick, praised the “amazing show of support for people fleeing the conflict [which] has meant that we have been able to start spending money straight away to help more people”.
However, the charity was critical of the government’s policy on admitting refugees, who still require visas to enter the country. Church leaders have called on the prime minister to remove bureaucratic obstacles to refugees, while Cafod’s Chair of Trustees, Bishop John Arnold of Salford, was one of over one thousand signatories of a letter opposing the controversial Nationality and Borders Bill.
The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy in Britain has launched its own Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal through its churches across the country, donating funds and supplies directly to accredited Ukrainian charities.
St Olga’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in the Diocese of East Anglia has become the centre of regional efforts to gather aid supplies. “Everyone in our church has a grandmother, mother, or sister in Ukraine. There are no words to describe what is going on there right now,” said one volunteer during a visit by Bishop Alan Hopes.
Organisers praised the community’s response, but complained of logistical difficulties transporting goods into the EU which mean that donations are stuck at the border.
The Archbishop of Liverpool Malcolm McMahon OP has launched an appeal for Ukraine. The archdiocese has connections with Ukraine as Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, the auxiliary bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sambir-Drohobych in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, was taught by Liverpool priest Father Francis Marsden while studying for the priesthood.
Ukrainian priest, Father Taras Khomych, serves at Liverpool's Ukrainian Catholic parish, based at St Sebastian's RC Church in Fairfield. Father Taras led prayers for Ukraine at the cathedral vigil on 4 March, he also comes from Lviv and has family there.
In Brazil, Caritas Paraná has joined the hierarchy the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the country in appeals for aid to Ukraine. A spokesman from the Brazilian bishops’ conference emphasised the unity of the universal Church, saying “this communion goes beyond geographical limits”.
The Archdiocese of Seoul has also pledged prayers and aid. Archbishop Peter Chun Soon-Taick expressed his solidarity for the Ukrainian population as the archdiocese’s newly-founded Cardinal Cheong Missionary Support Foundation donated $50,000 to the Ukrainian Church. A spokesman said that “it is God’s providence that the first activity of the foundation is to send a fund to help Ukraine”.
Other Catholic organisations offering aid include Depaul, providing basic supplies via its mission in Slovakia, the Knights of Columbus, whose Ukraine Solidarity Fund has raised $4.5 million in donations, and the Order of Malta, whose volunteers are assisting refugees on the Hungarian border.
A spokesperson for the Order said that the number of refugees crossing the Hungarian and Slovakian border area is second only to the numbers at the Polish border. She described the Order’s work there as exemplifying its ideals: “defence of the faith, defence of the values of the faith, and service to Our Lord and to the poor and needy.”
Besides long-established organisations, a Catholic charity founded last year to evacuate Christians from Afghanistan after its fall to the Taliban is now working in Ukraine. Jason Jones began the Vulnerable People Project to help Afghan Christians escape their country after the withdrawal of American forces, but is now also organising a team of volunteer drivers to transport refugees from Kyiv and Kharkiv to the west of the country.
Aid to the Church in Need has increased its support for priests and religious in Ukraine to over £1 million. Many churches have become impromptu shelters as civilian districts have become subject to bombardment.
Bishop Stanislav Šyrokoradjuk of Odessa told the charity that their presence was of great importance to people. “The cellars under the churches are open and always available for people to take refuge,” he added.
Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, the Catholic Metropolitan of Lviv, has confirmed that almost all of Ukraine’s priests and religious have remained in the country.
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