US bishops meet in solidarity with Ukrainian religious leaders to ‘speak the truth’ of war

Bishops from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met with religious leaders from Ukraine May 1 to show solidarity between the two countries amid the Ukraine-Russia war.

According to a May 5 USCCB news release, USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio hosted representatives of the Ukrainian Council of the Churches of Religious Organizations (UCCRO) in Washington, D.C.

The Ukrainians described the situation in their country at the moment, highlighting the bombing of churches, illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and religious persecution, according to the release. The religious leaders also expressed a desire for aid in sharing the truth about the war.

According to the release, Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr said, “We really have felt the solidarity of the Church in the USA, and we never cease to pray for you.”

“Now we are asking the Church to be on the side of the truth, and not to allow a false narrative to prevail in the current political climate,” he added. “For us it is ‘war’ not a ‘conflict.’ This is one example of how we see things have shifted.” 

Archbishop Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed his hope that the truth about the war can be shared, exhorting the leaders “to speak the truth, even when not politically expedient, respect fundamental human rights and treat every human person with dignity, even Russian prisoners of war.”

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