Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With great sorrow in my heart, I write to you regarding the tragic sufferings of the people of Ukraine. Many innocent people are being placed in harm’s way and have great fear for the safety of themselves and their loved ones.
I offer my brotherly support and prayers to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy and echo his call to “intensified penitential prayer for Ukraine, for our army, and our people, and I entreat you to lay aside mutual strife and misunderstandings and unite in love for God and our motherland.”
I call on the clergy and the faithful of this diocese to increase their prayer and repentance, especially in the light of Great Lent, and to remember all those affected by this tragic conflict.
May God’s mercy, peace, and love rule us all.
+PAUL
ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO AND THE MIDWEST
