‘Remember our suffering brothers and sisters’ urges Cardinal Radcliffe after Ukraine visit

Ukraine is ‘on the front line not only of its own conflict, but of a decisive moment for the world’, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP told Vatican News after two weeks in Ukraine.

Cardinal Radcliffe was in Ukraine from 27 February to 13 March in solidarity with the local Church and Dominican communities.

“All of us must remember that the suffering of Ukraine is not only the suffering of one country – it is the suffering of the whole world,” he said to Vatican News. “The question before us is whether we will remain a world in which freedom and democracy endure.”

During his visit, he met church leaders, wounded soldiers, volunteers, and Orionist Sisters working with single mothers and children.

Cardinal Radcliffe started his journey in Kyiv: “I was deeply moved when we visited the military hospital and met some of the wounded soldiers, as well as the remarkable director of the hospital, Ivan Yavorskyi.

“We then went to Fastiv to visit St. Martin’s Mission. It was inspiring to see so many joyful volunteers and the way they care for children and involve local people in their efforts to serve the people of God. Kherson was, in many ways, the most moving place for me.

“There, you can see how war destroys community life. Only a few elderly people remain. Yet it was also there that we encountered great courage – people who are determined to stay and do their best to build a future.

“In Odesa, we had a beautiful visit and were warmly received by bishop Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk, the ordinary of the Odesa-Simferopol diocese. 

“After that, we returned to Kyiv and then travelled to Kharkiv. We experienced the presence of drones and sensed how vulnerable people are to attack. One could feel the stress they must live with and the exhaustion of enduring day after day under the threat of violence.

“Kharkiv has suffered greatly, yet once again, we witnessed wonderful signs of hope. We saw the work of the Orionist Sisters with single mothers, a place filled with joy.

“These children have endured so much. Many of them wonder about their future and where they belong. Seeing the joy that the sisters brought to them was something truly wonderful.

“I was also deeply impressed by my conversation with Father Maksym Padlevskyi in Kherson, who remains there almost alone, faithfully serving on the front line. For me, that was one of the most moving and powerful experiences.

In reference to the new war in the Middle East, Cardinal Radcliffe said, “It saddens me deeply to see the same mistakes repeated again and again – the illusion that problems can be solved by killing people. They cannot.

“But let us hope that, little by little, the world will come to see that peace can only be found when we recognise the stranger as our brother and sister.

“In times of war, the danger is to think only of yourself and to retreat inward. But Pope Francis calls us to a fraternity that embraces the whole world.”

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