Comece bishops urge EU to stand by ‘martyred’ Ukraine

The bishops’ statement urged the EU to ‘remain faithful to its vocation to be a promise of peace and an anchor of stability’.

Comece, the group of bishops’ conferences in the European Union, expressed solidarity with Kyiv after President Donald Trump caused anxiety in western governments by turning against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A statement issued by the group’s presidency on 4 March reaffirmed “EU bishops’ continued closeness and heartfelt solidarity with the people of Ukraine, who have been suffering from Russia’s unjustifiable full-scale invasion for more than three years”.

Without mentioning the Trump, it said “the geopolitical landscape remains fraught with instability and uncertainty” and the outcome in Ukraine would “be decisive for the fate of the entire European continent and of a free and democratic world”.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law,” it added.

The Comece statement came two days before an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels, attended by Zelenskyy, that agreed to boost defence spending in all member states. Only Hungary abstained in another vote calling for “Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

In a televised address on the eve of the summit, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped the US would remain on the EU’s side but that it would move decisively if this was not the case. “The moment calls for unprecedented decisions,” he said.

Comece called for talks to bring about a lasting peace, but said they “should be supported by continued strong transatlantic and global solidarity and it must involve the victim of the aggression: Ukraine. We firmly reject any attempts to distort the reality of this aggression.” Amid the uncertainties of global security, it hoped the EU “will remain faithful to its vocation to be a promise of peace and an anchor of stability”.

Any peace accord “must fully respect international law and be underpinned by effective security guarantees to prevent the conflict from re-erupting”. Ukrainians deserve “a life in dignity, security and freedom”, it said, while the rights of the Russian-speaking minority must be protected.

The UK, no longer an EU member, called an emergency meeting in London on 2 March with several European leaders, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte. “We are at a crossroads in history,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned, joining France in suggesting they send peace-keeping troops.

The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales published the Comece statement on its website, but many conferences on the continent did not.

In his reflections published ahead of the start of Lent last week, and days after Trump’s confrontation with Zelenskyy, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Archbishop Timothy Broglio called for “bold negotiations” to bring peace to “the martyred people of Ukraine”.

“As Catholics, we are acutely aware that each past occupation of Ukraine led to various repressions of the Catholic Church in the country,” said Broglio, the Archbishop of the Military Services. “We must not tolerate the pushing of our brothers and sisters underground again.”

He said the proceeds of the USCCB’s Ash Wednesday collection would go to support the Church in eastern and central Europe.

Ukraine Church leaders demand ‘truth and justice’ amid diplomatic crisis

The battle of ideas that has engulfed Ukraine

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: