A building destroyed by shelling in Ukraine (AFP or licensors)
By Christopher Wells
Feb 23 2024
Canada’s major Christian churches and ecclesial communities issue “A Canadian Pastoral Letter” urging Christians and all people of good will to join in united prayer and action for peace in Ukraine.
Ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, national representatives of Canada’s Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant communities have signed a “Pastoral Letter on Ukraine, Canada, and the Church,” urging Christians to joint prayer and action for peace in Ukraine.
The Pastoral Letter was issued in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Churches, which numbers among its members the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as the World Evangelical Alliance’s Peace and Reconciliation Network, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
A call for prayer and action
“Without in any way minimizing or ignoring the suffering and sorrow caused by war and violence in other areas of the world,” the letter begins, “we stand together in inviting Christians and all people of good will to prayerfully consider how we are all called, and might contribute to, the achievement of peace in and for Ukraine.”
The Pastoral Letter laments the “massive” human suffering caused by the Russian invasion, denouncing especially the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the violations of human rights and freedoms. “Of special concern,” it says, “is the forced removal of children from their homes and families.”
Demanding an end to the war
The Letter calls on Russia’s leaders “to terminate this war, to cease this unjust aggression, end the violence being perpetrated against Ukraine and its people, and recall their military forces from within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine – including Crimea – immediately.”
The Letter goes on to suggest meaningful ways Christians can foster peace, including through prayer, support for Ukrainian refugees, and urging diplomatic steps towards a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine.
You can find links to the full text of the Pastoral Letter, in English, French, and Ukrainian, on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. – Vatican News
