Monday 28 February 2022
1 – How is the Russia-Ukraine war linked to religion?
2 – The Orthodox Response to Putin’s Invasion
3 – Pope Francis and the Vatican’s new foreign policy
4 – Pope Francis meets members of the Order of Malta to discuss its reform
5 – At the Angelus, Pope Francis remembers the blessed martyrs of Granada
1How is the Russia-Ukraine war linked to religion?
Ukraine’s complicated political history with Russia is also mirrored in the religious landscape, as the majority Orthodox Christian population is divided between an independent Church based in Kyiv and an autonomous branch linked to the patriarch in Moscow. As Orthodox churches are usually organized along national lines, political leaders have tried to capitalize on this split within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his invasion of Ukraine in part as a defense of the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church. However, local leaders of both Ukrainian factions have denounced the invasion, as has Ukraine’s Catholic minority. Some US Orthodox hope the two groups can put their disagreements aside and unite to try and end the war, but also fear that the conflict may worsen this split.
AP, English
And today we celebrate...