As Ukraine continues to grapple with the ongoing conse-quences of war more than three years after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, a delegation from Caritas Europa, led by its President, Msgr Michael Landau, visited the country to express solidarity, assess current needs, and renew support for the local Caritas network. The visit included stops in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, where representatives from 14 countries met with national and local Caritas offices and visited ongoing humanitarian projects.
In an interview with Vatican News, Tetiana Stawnychy, Presi-dent of Caritas Ukraine and Vice-President of Caritas Europa, described the mission as a moment of encounter, encouragement, and planning. “It was a solidarity visit together with many of our partners from all over Europe,” she said. “This encounter between the local and national Caritas in Ukraine and our partners from abroad has brought us a great deal of energy and encouragement.”
The timing of the visit was significant. “There was a rather large-scale attack the day before the meetings,” Stawnychy recall-ed. “Even during our meetings, there was an air alarm, so we moved into a shelter area and continued the work of exchange and scenario planning.”
During the visit, Caritas Europa representatives had the opportunity to observe the work of local teams providing shelter, psychosocial assistance, support for displaced persons, and services for children and elderly evacuees. According to Caritas Europa’s official statement, these encount-ers revealed not only the scale of suffering but also the resilience of communities and the essential role of local humanitarian actors.
Spanish bishops speak out after leaks of their meeting with Leo XIV
The executive committee of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) meeting in Madrid this week, issued an official statement regarding the leaks
