SPEECH OF ARCHBISHOP STANISLAW GADECKI DELIVERED IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW I

 

SPEECH
OF HIS EXCELLENCY ARCHBISHOP STANISŁAW GĄDECKI,
PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE,
DELIVERED IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW I,
THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Warsaw, 28 March 2022

We are honored by the presence of Your Holiness in Warsaw, at this difficult time marked by the war in Ukraine. Thank you for your Christian solidarity in our common supplication for a just peace for Ukraine and the entire world.

On February 24 of this year, the world was shocked by the horrifying news that the Russian Federation had launched a war against Ukraine. Since then, thousands of innocent people have been killed, including hundreds of children, elderly people, women, and men who had nothing to do with the hostilities. Many of the aggressor’s actions bear the hallmarks of genocide. Some towns and villages were razed to the ground; hospitals and schools have been bombed. And all this is happening at the beginning of the 21^st century, one hundred years after the establishment of the godless Soviet empire and seventy-seven since the end of World War II.

It seemed that the traumatic experience of that World War would be enough of a warning for everyone. It seemed that the evil empire had irretrievably crumbled. The opposite has happened. The unbridled lust for power and the lack of respect for human life and human dignity have led to the revival of the destructive demons of the past. Innocent people are being killed, and those who have survived are now deprived of the roof over their heads, the heritage of many generations, and especially their sense of security. In order to save their lives and the lives of their families, they are forced to abandon their homes and to go “wandering” into the unknown.

Ironically, in this war, two Christian Slavic nations are fighting each other, and yet they have the same baptismal font: the baptism of St. Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kiev, who, in 988, received it from Constantinople, the capital of the Christian East. Constantinople became the Mother for this new local Church, organized into an ecclesiastical metropolis with its headquarters in Kiev. After the painful rupture of ecclesiastical unity between the Old Rome and the New, the Orthodox metropolis of Kiev remained an integral part of the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1686.

As early as the 14^th century, part of the hierarchy and the faithful of this Orthodox metropolis found themselves within the borders of the Kingdom of Poland, to which Red Ruthenia was incorporated. The ties linking Poland’s history with the Kievan Orthodox metropolis grew stronger as time passed, and finally reached their apogee with the conclusion of the Union of Lublin in 1569, which resulted in the unification of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was then established.

The Ukrainian nation is particularly close to us. As Christians, we cannot passively observe its annihilation. The Churches consciously renounce the use of military weapons. Our weapon is the faith in the infinite power of God’s mercy and confident prayer for peace, for the respect for human dignity, and for the right of nations to self-determination. We, therefore, pray that the aggressors’ minds and spirit may change. I will repeat in this place the words that I addressed to His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in a letter dated March 2^nd this year: “No reason, no rationale can ever justify the decision to launch a military invasion of an independent country, bombing residential areas, schools, or kindergartens. War is always a defeat for humanity. This war (…) is even more senseless because of the proximity of the two nations and their Christian roots. Is it permissible to destroy the cradle of Christianity on Slavic soil, the place where Rus was baptized?”

In his Message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2000, John Paul II wrote: “wars are often the cause of further wars because they fuel deep hatreds, create situations of injustice and trample upon people’s dignity and rights. Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore, in addition to causing horrendous damage, they prove ultimately futile (…).”

I, therefore, call, implore and beg all the heads of Churches and religious communities, as well as all people of good will: let us be united in fervent prayer for an end to this war and to every other war. May our speech and our action in this matter be in accordance with the Gospel’s “principle of truth:” “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one” (Mt 5:37).

We find each other as Sisters and Brothers in Christ. In Him, we find true forgiveness and freedom of spirit. Only in Christ’s Cross is there hope for breaking the power of evil and for liberation from the shackles of wartime torment.

Pope Francis, and with him the entire Roman Catholic Church, is taking many spiritual initiatives, pleading for peace for Ukraine and the entire world. Last Friday, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord—in the Catholic Church—was a special day of prayer for peace, crowned by the Act of consecration of the world, especially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

May our prayer for peace in Ukraine and the entire world today be a gesture of spiritual, ecumenical solidarity with the tormented Ukrainian people. May it open our hearts to help the refugees and all those affected who need our support. May it arouse in us the spirit of forgiveness towards the oppressors. As Christians, let us, together in solidarity, ask God—who is Peace and the source of all peace—to crush the hard hearts and minds of those who sow death and destruction.

I offer Your Holiness my heartfelt thanks both for your presence with us today, and for all the spiritual and paternal care shown to the Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, many of whom have found refuge in Poland. On the part of the Catholic Church, I would like to assure Your Holiness that we will assist our brothers and sisters from Ukraine not only materially, but also spiritually, with due respect for their faith and cultural distinctiveness, in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the principles of ecumenism and the freedom of conscience and religion.

I also take this opportunity to thank the clergy, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church for all the help they have offered to the refugees from Ukraine. In a special way, I wish to express my gratitude for your commitment to the great work of mercy towards the needy of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches, whose history and tradition are so closely linked to the Ukrainian people.