In a message sent to Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Cardinal Peter Turkson, the condemnation comes after a Russian drone attack in Lviv, Ukraine, obliterated a Caritas-Spes-owned warehouse containing humanitarian aid.

The secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, Alistair Dutton, said the Russian attack destroyed more than 330 tons of humanitarian aid for Ukrainians.

"The mission's employees were unharmed," the head of Caritas-Spes Ukraine, Father Vyacheslav Grynevych, said "but the warehouse with everything inside burned to the ground, including food, hygiene kits, generators and clothes."

Caritas Poland had just sent aid packages to support 600 families in Ukraine. The charity has pledged additional support for families in need.

This incident highlights a disturbing trend, as humanitarian warehouses have increasingly become targets for Russian forces in their ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

In his September 19th message, the Pope expressed deep concern about the ethical problems of using conventional weapons in contemporary warfare. He emphasised that such weapons, which should be utilised only for defensive purposes, must never be directed towards civilian targets.

"It is my hope that sustained reflection on this issue will lead to a consensus that such weapons, with their immense destructive power, will not be employed in a way that foreseeably causes ‘superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering,' to use the words of the St Petersburg Declaration," Francis said.

Cardinal Krajewski in Lviv

The Dicastery for the Service of Charity announced in a September 20 press release that Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, is in Ukraine this week.

He is there to open the House of Refuge "in the name of Pope Francis, as a sign of support and closeness to the many people who were forced to flee because of the conflict, bringing the apostolic blessing."

The new house of refuge is for displaced mothers and children.

The Vatican partially financed and built the shelter during the conflict with Russia.

Sources

CruxNow

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

The following day they received a personal thanks from Pope Francis.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner confirmed that the Pope was aware of the men's hard work.

"I asked them whether they'll come again today and so they came all dressed in their work clothes. Instead of work, we surprised them with the Holy Father personally thanking them," the Cardinal told OSV News.

Many of the men are temporary residents at Palazzo Migliori next to the Bernini Colonnade in Rome,

These homeless men, hailing from countries such as Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Congo, have been given temporary shelter and employment opportunities in Rome.

After unloading the truck, the men were invited to lunch that was prepared by the sisters in Santa Sofia.

Krajewski also confirmed they were paid for unloading the truck.

The Cardinal, a Polish native who has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine, plans to deliver more supplies to the war-stricken country in September personally.

He also aims to open a shelter for mothers in Ukraine, run by the Albertine sisters.

Acting on behalf of Pope Francis, this will be Krajewski seventh humanitarian visit to Ukraine;

In 2022 alone the Dicastery for the Service of Charity spent US$2.2 million in 2022 on aid for the country.

When asked about the Pope's recent comments praising Russia's historical empire, a subject that could be considered sensitive given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Cardinal Krajewski described the situation as a "minefield."

"During the war, such speeches are difficult," he said, underscoring the complexities of offering public remarks while navigating Ukraine's geopolitical tensions.

The intervention of these homeless men in aid distribution efforts and the Pope's personal acknowledgement of their contributions highlight the broader commitment of the Vatican to not only international humanitarian aid but also social inclusion and dignity for all.

Source

• OSV via UCANews.com

On February 11th the Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, organised an entertainment for refugees and the poor and marginalised of Rome. The show was a traditional circus and included animal 'performances' from elephants, lions, and other animals - this despite the fact that the use of wild animals in circuses is banned in over 40 countries, including many Catholic countries around the world.

During the show, Cardinal Krajewski - who has this year undertaken several visits to Ukraine taking medical supplies and ambulances - lay on the ground in front of an elephant which gently walked over him - to great applause from the audience.

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Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Charity, and Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Oriental Churches, have been on the ground for an official visit to meet with locals and convey the Pope's closeness.

Despite miraculous rescues of people being found alive under the rubble throughout the week, the prospect of finding more survivors appears grim as first responders shift from rescue to recovery mode.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, has left a death toll of at least 45,000, which is still expected to rise. Hundreds of thousands of apartments were destroyed in the disaster.

Strong after shocks followed.

Pope Francis has repeatedly offered words of comfort to the people of Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake.

In addition to the aid sent this past weekend, the pope sent 10,000 thermal sweaters to victims in the affected area.

Personally delivered by Krajewski, the sweaters were scheduled to arrive on February 17 at the Kilis refugee camp in southern Turkey, which currently is home to around 60,000 people and has hosted refugees fleeing Syria's civil war since 2012.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that over 1 million people in Turkey are living in temporary housing facilities, such as tents and shipping containers.

Pope sends financial aid to Syria

The Pope also sent an undisclosed amount of financial aid to the apostolic nunciature in Syria to support the Syrian people, who according to the Vatican are "already exhausted by so many years of war and now by the devastating earthquake".

In addition to Krajewski, Gugerotti has also been on an official visit to the region to "express the Holy Father's closeness to the populations seriously affected by the recent disastrous earthquake," and to meet with the bishops and charitable organisations providing frontline aid.

Gugerotti travelled to Aleppo, Syria, where he visited both civil and ecclesial organisations assisting earthquake victims, and celebrated Mass with local Catholic and Orthodox bishops, as well as some Muslim leaders in the area.

He then celebrated Mass in the Greek Melkite cathedral and met with members of a local community of the Missionaries of Charity, the order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa, and then left for Damascus.

Gugerotti is scheduled to meet with local patriarchs and Catholic and non-Catholic bishops who reside in the quake-affected areas in Damascus on Monday.

He will then travel to Istanbul, where on Tuesday, he is scheduled to meet with Turkish bishops and the directors of local Caritas offices engaged in relief efforts.

While rescue efforts have already ended in all but two provinces in Turkey, search efforts continue only in the southern areas of Kahramanmaras and Hatay.

With so many people still missing, the aid provided by the Pope and his representatives is essential in the ongoing relief efforts.

Sources

CruxNow

The Catholic Standard

The International Organisation for the Protection of Animals (OIPA) has claimed that the animals are subjected to "painful constraints" for human amusement by the circus, known for its animal acts.

The event was organised to allow marginalised individuals, including refugees, homeless individuals, inmates, families with children, and squatters from occupied buildings in Rome, to enjoy a few hours of entertainment and relaxation.

The volunteers for the event, including Missionaries of Charity sisters of Mother Teresa, aimed to provide material aid and experiences to uplift the spirits of the marginalised.

During the event, Cardinal Krajewski (pictured) went so far as to lie on a stage and let an elephant climb over him to demonstrate the animal's training.

However, OIPA criticised Pope Francis for sponsoring an event with animals.

The group claims that circus animals are forced into a life against nature, living in captivity with limited space and under constant stress.

They argue that circuses that use human performers who display human talent instead of subjecting animals to painful constraints are acceptable.

Over the years, circus performers have been frequent guests at Vatican events, and Pope Francis has hosted circus performers, including some 6,000 during the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016.

Krajewski's intention to spread joy

Although animal rights groups have raised their voices against using animals in circuses, the use of animals remains legal in Italy.

The opposition of the animal rights group has brought attention to the issue of animal cruelty in circuses.

The incident highlights the moral complexities of balancing charity, entertainment, and the welfare of animals.

While Krajewski's intention was to spread joy and offer some relief to marginalised individuals, animal rights activists argue that the use of animals in entertainment is outdated and cruel and that it is time to move on to more ethical forms of entertainment.

The event highlights the tension between providing entertainment and uplifting activities while also protecting the welfare of animals.

The Vatican's response to the criticism will be important in shaping the conversation around animal rights and the use of animals in entertainment.

Sources

Crux Now

Angelus News

CathNews New Zealand

"Making it possible to participate in this performance is a way to give a few hours of contentment to those who are confronted with a hard life and need help to nurture hope," Pope Francis' almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, said this week in an announcement about the initiative.

The Vatican said volunteers, including sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, will accompany the circus guests, some of whom are homeless and either living on the streets or in a shelter.

Prisoners, refugees, and families with children from Ukraine, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan were also invited, together with several families living in some of Rome's illegally occupied apartment buildings.

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Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope's almoner, says the charity office is "already stocking up" on thermal shirts for men, women and children.

He is encouraging others to join the thermal shirt initiative by bringing or shipping them to the Dicastery by the beginning of January. Then the shirts will be trucked to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city.

"The Ukrainian people are experiencing an emergency related not only to the war but also to the lack of electricity and gas, and the very cold winter weather," Krajewski said.

"We can help them this Christmas," he added, "with the gift of thermal shirts, suitable for maintaining body temperature, for men, women, or children."

Thermal shirts help retain heat and maintain body temperature in cold weather. They are usually worn as a base layer under other clothing.

Systematic bombing by Russia has damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and the country's government has warned that the networks will not withstand winter's increased demands.

People in Ukraine are facing freezing weather without electricity, heat, or water, as January, the country's coldest month of the year, approaches.

Temperatures in Kyiv are already below freezing, with a mixture of rain and snow in the near forecast.

Cardinal Krajewski has traveled to Ukraine by truck several times since Russia's invasion in February, bringing food and supplies to be distributed to those in need.

Source

• CNA

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski said during his visit to the grave site on 19 September that "seeing so many [dead] in one area is a difficult thing … to explain."

"The words of Sacred Scripture came to mind that evil must always be overcome with good," he told Vatican News.

Krajewski visited Izium in northeastern Ukraine two days after he was shot at as he delivered humanitarian aid near the city of Zaporizhzhia. He was not injured in the incident.

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Krajewski, was sent by Pope Francis to Ukraine to show the pope's "closeness" to the Ukrainian people.

"It would be good if you could go again to Ukraine, to the war zones, to visit and bring aid to those communities that are still there after almost 200 days of war," Francis told him during the recent meeting of cardinals in Rome.

Krajewski told the Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, that he had gone into war zones where only soldiers entered.

Describing the task as bringing aid to people trapped in no-man's-land, Krajewski told Vatican News "No one besides soldiers enters anymore.

"While we managed to give the first portion of humanitarian help peacefully, during the second one they started to fire on us," said Krajewski.

"For the first time in my life, I didn't know where to run. Because it is not enough to run, you have to know where to go," said the Polish-born cardinal.

Krajewski was grateful to a Ukrainian soldier who guided the group to shelter and warned that they had 10 minutes before the second round of attacks would start.

"They say there are a lot of traitors in that terrain," Krajewski told Crux, referring to people who collaborate with Russian forces.

"When they spot humanitarian help being distributed, they give a location through their mobile phone and the gunfire starts."

Krajewski said that after taking shelter, everyone was well, adding "We managed to distribute papal rosaries to the soldiers.

"Almost all of the Ukrainian soldiers, no matter what their faith was, put the rosary on their necks immediately."

On Sunday Krajewski and his team went to visit the site of mass graves left behind by Russian occupiers, declaring "the entire world now knows they're real".

So far, officials of Ukraine's Defence Ministry say that at least 440 unmarked graves have been discovered in the wake of a Russian withdrawal from the eastern city of Izyum, despite repeated denials from Russian officials that their forces have targeted civilians or committed war crimes.

In the past, Moscow has suggested that purported images of civilian casualties or mass graves in conflict zones amount to Ukrainian propaganda.

Krajewski removed any doubt saying the mass graves were located in pine tree forests, and some victims displayed signs of torture, with their hands tied behind their backs.

Sources

• AP News
• Vatican News
• America Magazine
• Crux

Pope Francis made that appeal on Sunday as he spoke to pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square for the Angelus prayer.

The Pope also recalled that he had sent Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, to Ukraine to visit various communities and "offer concrete witness to the closeness of the Pope and the Church."

The Holy See Press Office announced the Polish-born Cardinal's fourth visit to the country on Wednesday. He will travel to the cities of Odessa, Žytomyr, Kharkiv and other places in eastern Ukraine.

Pope Francis' appeal comes as the situation at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant continues to worry international experts.

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Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, during a visit to a newly liberated area of northern Ukraine, was pictured praying on April 15 at a grave containing 80 bodies.

The Holy See press office said that the papal almoner traveled to Borodianka, a town around 30 miles northwest of the capital Kyiv.

The cardinal said in an audio message shared by the press office: "Here with the nuncio, we are returning now to Kyiv, from these difficult places for every person in the world, where we still found so many dead and a grave of at least 80 people, buried without first name and surname. And the tears are missing, the words are missing."

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Cardinal Konrad Krajewski said he intended to enter the war-torn country via Poland at the pope's behest. Krajewski holds the title of papal almoner, officially charged with performing acts of mercy on behalf of the pope.

Speaking in Poland on March 7, he said: "I bring you greetings and blessings from Pope Francis. The pope is praying and very much experiencing the situation of war. Today you have to think with the Gospel and not with the world. From Lublin, I will go to Ukraine, as far as I can."

Krajewski is one of two of Pope Francis' most trusted Vatican officials to go to Ukraine to seek an end to the conflict.

Along with Krajewski, Cardinal Michael Czerny will also go to the war zone in what the Vatican called "an extraordinary gesture."

Czerny is the ad interim prefect of the Vatican Department for Promoting Integral Human Development.

"The Holy See has put itself at the service of achieving peace in Ukraine," the Vatican said on March 7. It added that the two cardinals "are directed to Ukraine and depending on the situation they intend to reach the country in the coming days."

The pope's decision to send two high-ranking Vatican officials so closely tied to Francis can be interpreted as an absolute commitment by the Holy See to help mediate the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

"The Holy See is ready to do everything to put itself at the service of this peace," Francis said during his weekly prayer service on March 6.

"The presence of the two cardinals there is the presence not only of the pope, but of all the Christian people who want to get closer and say: ‘War is madness! Stop, please! Look at this cruelty!"

The pope lamented that "rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine."

He added that the current conflict is "not merely a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery."

Sources

Religion News Service

Catholic News Agency

The Office of Papal Charities is offering doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, purchased by the Holy See and offered by the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital through the Vatican COVID-19 Commission, to "the poorest and most marginalized people who, because of their situation, are the most exposed to the virus," according to a statement released March 26.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski oversees the Office of Papal Charities, the Vatican department that offers charitable assistance to the poor on behalf of the pope. Krajewski himself was hospitalized with COVID-19 for 10 days in December but recovered.

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Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, dubbed Pope Francis's "Robin Hood" by the Italian press, said in a statement that the centre would welcome single women, women with children and vulnerable families during their first months in Italy.

The building has been loaned to the Vatican by the Sisters Servants of Divine Providence of Catania.

The reception centre will be managed by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic charity that has facilitated the arrival of displaced people from Syria and the Horn of Africa since 2015.

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Cardinal Konrad Krajewski's parish is the street, and no virus will stop him from helping the poor, he says.

On Sunday, he toured around the Roman parishes and told them that "washing the feet of those in need is like consecration during Eucharist."

He also urged priests under lockdown to open their showers to the poor, "respecting all procedures of protection" from the coronavirus.

"I went to one friary - I asked - how many of you are there? They said 20. It is 20 men that can serve the poor! We don't need to put our lay volunteers in danger, the Churchmen can do it!" Krajewski says.

In his opinion, prayer without alms these days is "incomplete".

"Before Urbi et Orbi on Friday, the Holy Father gave 30 respirators to hospitals, then he prayed for the world," Krajewski said.

Krajewski has a special message to the hundreds of priests around studying at pontifical universities in Rome:

"Put away the theology books for now - there is a Gospel in the making on the streets."

Two homeless people and a Muslim woman regularly prepare sandwiches for the city's poor in his home in the Vatican.

"It is a home church," he says.

The poor are telling him they are hungry, he says.

"There is no place to go for them to ask for help - bars and restaurants are closed."

Urging priests to go out and serve the poor, he says: "We have two hands, the intelligence of the Gospel: We only lack a little courage."

Krajewski is not asking his confreres to do anything he wouldn't - and isn't - doing himself.

While Rome is under lockdown, he collects food from factories and businesses in Rome and delivers it personally to the city's poor.

"Companies are giving away tons of food. We have to deliver it before it goes bad," he says.

On his delivery-round this week are two convents where dozens of sisters are infected with COVID-19 (coronavirus).

The Pontifical Villas Dairy Production from the Vatican's Castel Gandolfo property donates fresh milk and yoghurt every day.

Saying he once dreamed of being a milkman, he jokes that his dream is now coming true.

Krajewski says he has been tested for COVID-19, and the results were negative.

"I did it for the sake of the poor and people who work with me - they need to be safe," he says.

Krajewski's position as papal almoner has been given greater attention under Pope Francis's pontificate.

He is widely seen as one of the pontiff's closest collaborators.

Source

• Crux
• Image: Catholic News Agency

The menu included lasagna, chicken in a cream of mushroom sauce, potatoes, sweets, fruit and coffee.

Some 150 tables were set up in a Vatican hall where Francis normally holds his weekly indoor audiences with the public.

Another 1,500 were treated to a similar lunch elsewhere in Rome, and parishes throughout the diocese were similarly serving lunch for those who were unable to afford their own.

Lunch follows on from a week of free medical clinics set up in St Peter's Square where volunteer doctors give the homeless and disadvantaged free specialist health care.

General care is available year-round nearby, another of Francis' initiatives.

Also, on Friday, Francis opened a new place for the homeless on the doorstep of the Vatican.

Just a few metres away from the colonnade of St Peter's Square, the building occupies an entire four-storey building owned by the Vatican.

Up until a few months back, the building, Palazzo Migliori was used by a female religious congregation.

Transferred to the Papal Almoner - Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, it now has a second life.

"It is the name of the family that owned it before 1930 and sold it to the Vatican, but it also translates in Italian to ‘the Palace of the Best' - and indeed considering who will stay here, it is exactly the case", Krajewski told Crux.

With historic wooden ceilings, pieces of art on the walls and now equipped with an elevator, inside it is nothing like homeless shelter.

"I asked a construction company to let the homeless workers do the renovation.

"They agreed a bit hesitantly but then they were so happy with their work, they decided to hire those people - the owner of the company said they rarely see people who would work so hard", said Krajewski.

Marking the World Day of the Poor at Mass in St Peter's Basilica, Francis lamented the lack of concern about the growing gap between the have's and have nots.

Dismayed over society's indifference towards poor people, Francis said that the 'greed of a few' is compounding the plight of the poor.

"We go our way in haste, without worrying that gaps are increasing, that the greed of a few is adding to the poverty of many others," he said.

These moves, a mark of his papacy, are not without criticism.

Francis' emphasis on mercy and charity is raising the ire of a small but noisy faction, among them, more conservative bishops and cardinals who would rather the pope concentrate of dogma and matters of faith rather than social issues.

Sources

• Associated Press
• Crux

The building has been occupied since 2013 after being taken over by activists, who are using it to provide shelter for the homeless and to host several workspaces.

Its power had been cut by its electricity supplier since 6 May because it had accumulated a 300,000 euro debt.

The sum is believed to have accumulated in the years since the unused building was taken over in 2013.

"I intervened personally last night to turn back on the meters. It was a desperate gesture. There were over 400 people without electricity, families with children," says Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, almoner of the office of papal charities.

"I didn't do it because I'm drunk," he added.

His practical response to the situation was to climb down a manhole and flip a switch.

Matteo Salvini, Italy's populist deputy prime minister, is expecting Krajewski to pay the outstanding arrears.

"I expect that the pope's almoner, who intervened to turn the power back on in an occupied building in Rome, will also pay the 300,000 euros in back bills."

As papal almoner, Krajewski is responsible for distributing donations to those in need on behalf of Pope Francis. Other initiatives he has carried out include providing a dormitory, barber services and showers for those in need.

Source

• Rome Reports
• Catholic Herald
• Euro News
• Image: America Magazine