Independence and peace are precious, Ukraine’s leading Latin-rite bishop says
August 22, 2025
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: The president of the Latin-rite Ukrainian Episcopal Conference expressed gratitude for Pope Leo XIV’s request for prayer and fasting on August 22 for peace, justice, and the victims of war.
Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovskyi of Lutsk told the Vatican newspaper that “prayer and fasting are a force that has a great impact on what happens, on history.”
“Throughout the war, we saw that placing our hope in people can lead to great disappointment,” Bishop Skomarovskyi continued. “On the contrary, hope in God never disappoints.”
The prelate mused:
When Ukraine gained independence in 1991, I remember the mood that prevailed then: great happiness that it had happened almost without bloodshed ... But as time has shown, independence is a very precious thing, and now we see how high the price to pay for independence is. ...The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
I think the war also taught us how important it is to appreciate peace. We have always prayed for peace, but I don’t think we were fully aware of how great a gift it is to live in peace, to live without war.
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