Pope Francis has again expressed his stance against the criminalisation of homosexuality and confirmed his support for LGBTQ rights. During his flight from South Sudan to Rome, he stated, “God loves people with homosexual tendencies. To condemn them is a sin. Criminalising them is an injustice.” Pope Francis’ comments came in response to laws criminalising Read more
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church gave Pope Francis a piece from an exploded Russian mine during a visit to the Vatican on Monday. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk is in Rome this week to speak with Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia about the war in Ukraine. It is his first Read more
Supplying Russian soldiers with Viagra and condoning the rape of Ukrainian women, men and children is being jointly criticised by the UN and Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Their stories “simply break the heart, make the blood run cold in your veins. “This war will go down in history as one in which Russia uses sexual Read more
It is madness, said Pope Francis when he heard Russia was threatening to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he is not bluffing about using the weapons of mass destruction. He ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Read more
Pope Francis says God must never “be held hostage to the human thirst for power”, and religion must never be used to justify the “evil” of war. An implicit criticism of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who backs the invasion of Ukraine and has boycotted a conference of faith leaders, the Pope made his views plain Read more
I have been blacklisted by the Ukraine government. The Center for Countering Disinformation, an agency of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine – which advises the president of Ukraine – has compiled a list of over 78 international figures who are accused of promoting so-called “Russian propaganda.” And I happen to be included Read more
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has pushed back on Pope Francis’ comments that Russia was possibly provoked by NATO into invading Ukraine. “The gift of reason from the Holy Spirit is so necessary in today’s world so that the devil’s wiles do not deceive the human person,” said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head Read more
Silence kills, and the Ukrainian Catholic Church is urging the world to continue to speak out about Ukraine’s struggle to survive. Major Archbishop Svietoslav Shevchuk’s appeal comes as Ukraine’s largest Orthodox church (UOC) reasserts its independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. “We are seeing today how silence can kill,” Shevchuk says. Everyone who chooses to stay Read more
Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox parishes are defecting to an autonomous Ukrainian Church. By the dozen. During most of April and May, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) has been losing four or five Ukrainian parishes a day. Most individuals and parishes leaving the UOC-MP are affiliating with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The OCU is Read more
In an interview with the Polish Catholic news agency KAI, the president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference has said that the Vatican’s approach to Russia is “naive and utopian”. Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, 72, was asked about his meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, following a May 17-20 visit to Read more