President of Bishops of Poland's Appeal for Refugees of Ukraine "In this situation, continuing our prayer for peace, I appeal to my compatriots to keep their hearts open..." FULL TEXT

“Continuing our prayer for peace, I appeal to my countrymen to keep their hearts open and to welcome heart refugees from Ukraine who in Poland would like to find shelter from the war,” wrote the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki, in his Appeal concerning refugees from Ukraine.

In the face of reports about the further escalation of tensions in Ukraine, the Episcopate’s President stressed that “everyone has the right to live in peace and security. Everyone has the right to seek, for themselves and their loved ones, safe living conditions.”

The Episcopate’s President recalled that, in recent years, Poland has opened its doors to newcomers from Ukraine “who live among us, work with us, pray in Polish churches, and study in Polish schools.”

Archbishop Gądecki asked that the hospitality toward refugees be expressed concretely through support with the help of our charitable organizations—Caritas Poland, diocesan and parish Caritas, and other associations. He added that Caritas Poland has prepared an additional program of support for refugees from Ukraine in case of a further escalation of the tensions and military action.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

We are publishing the full text of the Appeal:
APPEAL
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
REGARDING REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all those who responded to my appeal to pray for peace in Ukraine, which I sent through the bishops on February 12th to all Catholics and people of good will in Poland. A few days ago, I addressed a similar request to the Catholic and Orthodox bishops of Russia and Ukraine, including the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill, asking for joint prayers of all the Christians in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, so that the Lord may turn the hearts of those in power away from the lust of war and toward peace.

I am pained by the reports of the further escalation of tensions in Ukraine, especially the armed actions of the so-called “Russian separatists,” including the shelling of the kindergarten in Donbass and a number of towns in the region.

In this situation, continuing our prayer for peace, I appeal to my compatriots to keep their hearts open and to welcome heart refugees from Ukraine who in Poland would like to find shelter from the war. Everyone has the right to live in peace and security. Everyone has the right to seek, for themselves and their loved ones, safe living conditions.

The history of Poland shows that, for centuries, our homeland has been a refuge for those who, respecting Polish culture and law, fled from persecution and hatred. In recent years, Poland has opened its doors to newcomers from Ukraine, who live among us, work with us, pray in Polish churches, and study in Polish schools.

May our hospitality towards refugees be expressed concretely through the support we want to give them with the help of our charitable organizations—Caritas Polska, diocesan and parish Caritas, and other associations. Caritas Poland has prepared an additional program of support for refugees from Ukraine in case of a further escalation of the tensions and military action.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews exclaims: “Do not neglect to show hospitality (φιλοξενια – “love of strangers”), for by it some, without knowing it, have given hospitality to angels” (Heb 13:2). We commend all refugees and the cause of peace in Ukraine to the Good Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady the Queen of Peace.

+Stanisław Gądecki
Archbishop Metropolitan of Poznan
President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

Warsaw, 21 February 2022

FULL TEXT Source: https://episkopat.pl/appeal-of-the-episcopate-president-regarding-refugees-from-ukraine/