Three years of war in Ukraine: the Catholic Church's assistance to the affected and refugees

https://episkopat.pl/doc/224520.Trzy-lata-wojny-w-Ukrainie-pomoc-Kosciola-katolickiego

Three years of full-scale war

“It has now been three years of full-scale war in Ukraine” – recalled at the beginning of the press conference the Spokesman of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Fr Leszek Gęsiak SJ. At the same time, he pointed out that the war started much earlier, in 2014, by Russia's actions against Ukraine at the time. “This conflict caused huge human casualties, unimaginable material losses, environmental devastation, human suffering and a huge migration wave” – he acknowledged.

“All these issues are faced by various organisations around the world, by the governments of many countries, and from the very beginning, from the moment when this full-scale war broke out, the Catholic Church has participated very actively in this assistance to Ukrainians, both there in Ukraine and also to those who migrated to Poland at that time” – the Spokesman of the Polish Episcopate stressed.

Don't get tired of helping

“War is such a neighbour that resides very close to you, that worries you and you often rub up against it, you rub up against death” – said Fr Vyacheslav Grynevich SAC, director of Caritas-SPES Ukraine.

The Caritas-SPES director asked Poles not to get tired of war and aid. “I would ask them not to believe that there is something dividing us. Really people are very grateful. And please accompany us in this aid that we continue” – he stressed.

The Church has stayed on the spot with the people

Fr Leszek Kryża TChr, Director of the Office of the Team for Aid to the Church in the East at the Polish Bishops' Conference, admitted that the Team has been involved in assistance in Ukraine since the very beginning of the conflict. He pointed out that since the outbreak of the full-scale war, the Team's staff have been to Ukraine about 30 times.

“The fundamental contribution of the Catholic Church in Poland and Ukraine is that this Church has stayed there with the people. The fact that priests, nuns, religious brothers have stayed there, that they are with these people, they help and support them” – Fr Kryża stressed.

He pointed out that in the last three years, the Team has donated almost PLN 4.5 million to help Ukraine from the money collected on the second Sunday of Advent.

The clergyman stressed that during these three years, every year, there have been holidays for children, meetings for the elderly, as well as spiritual and psychological support points have been established.

Rebuilding the social fabric in Ukraine

Marcin Majewski, Spokesman of Caritas Poland, spoke about how the nature of assistance to Ukrainians has changed over the past year. “At the moment, we are mainly trying to rebuild the social fabric in Ukraine, and also to help people who have decided to stay in Poland so that they can integrate better” – he admitted.

He added that Caritas Poland cooperates with a network of diocesan Caritas, as well as with Caritas-SPES (Caritas of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine) and Caritas Ukraine (Caritas of the Greek Catholic Church).

Summing up the assistance to Ukraine in 2024, Marcin Majewski pointed out that there had been the opening of four family support centres in Ukraine. “More than 2,400 families have benefited from assistance of approximately PLN 2 million” – he reported.

The Spokesman of Caritas Poland estimated that support had been provided to around 10,000 children who participated in holiday camps and assistance to around 700 people with disabilities.

He also recalled the “Family to Family” Programme, especially for those displaced from areas of open conflict.

Referring to the assistance provided to Ukrainians in Poland, Marcin Majewski pointed out that it is distributed by 28 Centres for Migrants and Refugees, which conduct psychosocial activities, i.e. integration classes. He added that the in-kind assistance reached an amount of approximately PLN 2.3 million and was provided in cooperation with UNHCR.

Aid provided in two ways

Marek Grzymowski, vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Malta Aid Foundation – Malta Medical Service, pointed out that assistance from the Order of Malta began in 2014 by setting up field kitchens for the fighting Ukrainians. He added that around 3,000 people had been trained in first aid.

He stressed that the first humanitarian convoys were dispatched three years ago and emphasised that so far there have been 300 convoys sent to Ukraine. He added that medical points have been set up at railway stations, where tens of thousands of people have received medical assistance. He stressed that the aid is provided in cooperation with local and municipal authorities.

He noted that assistance was provided in two ways: in Ukraine, but also to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Assistance included professional activation courses for women in Poland, assistance for children in the form of school lunches and holiday trips with psychological workshops.

Invitation to prayer

Marek Ziętek, state delegate of the Knights of Columbus in Poland, acknowledged that the war had changed the lives of many millions of people. “From the first moments of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the Knights of Columbus began to provide assistance. Tents of mercy were organised at border crossings: some 300,000 Ukrainian refugees benefited from this aid” – he pointed out.

Marek Ziętek explained that soon the activities of the Knights from Poland were joined by their confreres from other countries. He reported that more than 24 million dollars had been raised globally to help Ukrainians. He stressed that 4,500 tons of aid had been sent to Ukraine. He added that this aid was possible thanks to the Knights of Columbus of Ukraine, of which there are approx. 3,000.

Marek Ziętek noted that aid is also being organised locally. One of the more recent projects is the construction of a town of modular homes in Lviv for families who were forced to flee eastern Ukraine. There are also plans to launch a scholarship fund for children who have lost their parents.

In addition, he invited people to join in the Novena, which the Knights of Columbus is starting on 15 February. The novena was written by a young Ukrainian woman living in Poland. Each day is dedicated to a different group affected by war, including widows, orphans, the wounded and veterans.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference