“This war calls into question the conscience of every Christian.” Pope Francis
Three seconds! In three seconds a missile demolishes a house. In three seconds it crumbles the sacrifices of a lifetime, a love story, the hopes of a family. And after? Only escape remains, to save at least one's life! On the road with thousands of others, refugees like them, looking for a good Samaritan to take them in, to care of them, of the wounds of body and soul. Yes, even of the soul: the most difficult to heal.
"Comfort the afflicted."
In recent months thousands of images have shown us everything about war. To confirm the evidence of the humanitarian disaster there are also the testimonies of our friars, which remove all doubt. Hundreds of displaced people, mostly mothers and children, dragging a trolley with what remains of their history and their lives, are being received in convents in Ukraine, Poland and Romania.
"Feed the hungry and quench the thirsty"
Brother Nicholas Orach, parish priest in Lviv, is deeply concerned about the physical as well as the moral destruction caused by this conflict. "It is hard to talk about peace," he tells us over the phone, "under the threat of reverting back to the past, of being enslaved by a regime that wants to crush us. We must resist, even if freedom will cost us dearly."
"The people who come to our convent are terrified and without any material means. They stay with us one or two nights, enough to recover, before leaving again. We offer them a hot shower, clean clothes, food and medicine. Requests for hospitality increase every day, and our resources are never enough."
"Relieving war refugees."
St. Anthony’s Charities has decided to support our friars in Ukraine who take war refugees in their convents. With the help of many volunteers they are able to accommodate hundreds of displaced people every day and ensure them a hot meal. In addition to basic necessities, they know how to give a word of comfort and hope to those who are sad and frightened.
St. Anthony’s Charities has chosen to stand with the victims of war, and to support displaced people and refugees fleeing war; it needs your help too!
Thank you for your generosity!