About the Initiative
“The Pope for Ukraine” – is a special humanitarian initiative from the Most Holy Father Francis aimed at helping all citizens of Ukraine who became victims of the military operations in the East or turned into internal migrants.
April 24th catholic churches of Europe organised a whip-round following a request of the Pope Francis for the needs of the war victims in Ukraine. The Most Holy Father also donated a significant contribution personally from himself. The papal help is an obvious sign of sympathy from the Catholic Church to the Human in torment with no division by faith, confession, ethnic groups or political beliefs.
For the distribution of this fund on the September 1st, 2017, the State Vatican Secretariat approved the Technical Secretariat headed by His Excellency Eduard Kava OFM Conv, the Bishop-assistant of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Roman-Catholic Church who took up the work of the Technical Committee. 15-20 June 2016 the Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Pietro Parolin launched “the Pope for Ukraine” Initiative by his visit and a Technical Committee “in loco” was organised in Zaporizhzhya, headed by Jan Sobilo, Bishop-assistant of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhya diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. The Technical Committee had been working from June 20, 2016 till September 1, 2017. During this period more than 400 projects of big and small grants have been studied and the key partners have been chosen for the further cooperation. Currently the competition of grant projects’ applications is closed. The Technical Secretariat continues its work with the humanitarian organisations which gained good reputation on the previous stage of the Initiative. The main goal of the Initiative at this point is getting ready for the winter.
Citizens of Sloviansk Donetsk region remember the Spring and Summer 2014 very well: fights, occupation, curfew… Empty supermarkets, disactivated ABMs, marauding, suspended schools, nurseries, no electricity and no water… Fear, that citizens of this city faced, can hardly be described.
A delegation of more than one hundred young Italian priests, episcopal vicars and priests responsible for clergy formation, headed by Archbishop-metropolite of Milan Archdiocese Mario Delpini, has visited meeting devoted to the results of work of the “Pope for Ukraine” Action in Kyiv.
Bishop Eduard Kava OFMConv, a head of the Technical Secretariat of the “Pope for Ukraine” Action, visited children from the ATO area who were recovering, resting and studying in a camp of “Caritas-Spes” in Yablunytstya village of Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The Vatican aid for migrants living in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region is continuing and starting from December thousands of internally relocated persons will be able to receive it” – stated today the Auxiliary Bishop pf the Lviv Archdiocese and the Head of the “Pope for Ukraine” Technical Secretariat , His Excellency Eduard Kava during the press conference in Kharkiv.