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Help Ukrainians survive the war: LifeFunder

POZNAN, Poland (LifeSiteNews) — The Catholic Church in Poland has condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and has asked all Polish Christians “and people of good will” to assist the refugees.

On February 24, the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Metropolitan Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, issued a statement in which he described “the activities of Russia and of Vladimir Putin” as “an unacceptable act of barbarism, directed against the sovereignty and independence of a free state.”

“At the same time — together with the whole Church in Poland — I express my solidarity with all Ukrainians, both in Poland and in Ukraine, assuring them of our closeness, prayers and readiness to help,” Gądecki continued.

Adding his own request to that of Pope Francis that Ash Wednesday be observed “as a day of fasting and prayer for peace and solidarity with Ukraine,” the Archbishop of Poznań asked that all parish churches in Poland carry out prayers for peace in the region.

Gądecki also called for “material aid.”

“In addition, I ask all believers and people of goodwill to have an open attitude towards those in need of shelter,” he continued.

The following day, the Polish Bishops’ Conference held a meeting about the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and asked Polish priests, nuns, monks, and laity to open to “our brothers and sisters from Ukraine homes, hostels, diocesan houses, parish houses, retreat houses, and all places where help can be provided to people in need.” Subsequently, dioceses have also opened centers where Poles can donate not only canned goods but blankets, sheets, duvets, pillows, towels, thermos flask, toiletries, diapers, medical supplies, washing detergent, and such pantry staples as rice and pasta.

Filip Mazurczak, a Polish-American author and translator living in Kraków, told LifeSiteNews that the Catholic Church in Poland is united on the subject of welcoming potentially millions of refugees from Ukraine.

“I have heard no Polish bishops, priests, nuns, or prominent laypeople say anything other than that it’s the Church’s moral duty to take in refugees,” Mazurczak said. “The efforts of the institutional Church have been huge.”

As evidence, he cited an article on Polish Catholic news website Wiara.pl that detailed how one parish, St. Małgorzata in Warsaw’s Łomianki district, had already housed 700 refugees, with over 100 volunteers sorting, packing, and distributing donations.

According to Wiara.pl, a parish team of drivers picks up refugees at the border and takes them to Łomianki, where another team registers them and assigns them available apartments. There are also volunteers providing legal advice, medical care, and support for mothers.

“There’s really a lot of work,” the parish’s Fr. Jacek Siekierski told a journalist.

“I sleep two hours a day, but I have a lot of help from the associate pastors serving in the parish. We are committed to all in need, and we will be with them as long as necessary. Our vocation is to proclaim the Gospel, and that means giving ourselves to others.”

Ukrainians already make up the largest number of immigrants to Poland, numbering 200,000 in Warsaw alone. An estimated 800,000 more have crossed the border into Poland since Vladimir Putin began his attack on Ukraine last week.

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