Prayers, vigils and rallies for peace in Ukraine last weekend included a London march involving tens of thousands of people on 26 March. Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, from the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of the Holy Family of London walked at the front of the march with Mayor Sadiq Khan. The bishop was very grateful for the support of Londoners for Ukraine. He said: “As I walked with our mayor holding the banner, which reminded everybody why we were making this important sign of solidarity, I was filled with appreciation of the solidarity that Londoners were showing the world.” The yellow and blue banner fluttered in the sunshine and read: “London Stands with Ukraine.”
Also walking was Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, parish priest at Farm Street Church and chair of Westminster Justice and Peace. He said: “It was wonderful to be part of this show of solidarity from the people of London who came out in their thousands to march for peace and justice in Ukraine and to show that the Church is right behind the Ukrainian people in their urgent need.”
A rosary for peace held the evening before at George Square Glasgow as Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to The Immaculate Heart of Mary attracted a huge turnout. More than 2,000 Catholics of all ages sang an Ave Maria for peace in the world. The rosary was led by Bishop John Keenan of Paisley after Archbishop William Nolan of Glasgow had to pull out and self-isolate after testing positive for Covid. “What a powerful witness to the vitality of the Church in Scotland,” said one tweet afterwards.
There were also public shows of support for Ukrainian refugees. Justice and Peace Scotland has joined Sciaf in Scotland to petition the UK government “to do the right thing and allow our brothers and sisters fleeing war in Ukraine to come to the UK”.
Additional events around the country remembered the victims of other wars too. Huddersfield Quakers marked the seventh anniversary of the war in Yemen with a vigil calling on the UK to stop arms sales for use in Yemen and to show generosity to refugees from wars.
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