A delegation of Australian Bishops has travelled to war-torn Ukraine to bring their closeness to the nation’s suffering people.
According to the Bishops’ Conference website’s media blog, the delegation from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) made the pastoral visit to several Ukrainian cities on 8-11 August in an expression of solidarity with the country’s people.
The delegation consisted of Archbishop Peter A Comensoli of Melbourne; Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart; Bishop Karol Kulczycki SDS of Port Pirie; Father Simon Cjuk, vicar general of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia; Annie Carrett, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne; and was guided and accompanied by Father Adam Ziółkowski SDS.
The delegation visited Lviv, Kyiv, Bucha and Irpin, the last two having been sites of horrendous destruction and atrocities against human life, and met with Church leaders, families, civil leaders, and soldiers.