Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
The Catholic Church in Australia supports the Ukrainian people in these difficult times
February 23, 2024
On Thursday, February 22, in Melbourne, representatives of the Ukrainian community in Australia held an official meeting with the head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli.
Bishop Mykola Bychok, Eparch for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania; Mr. Stefan Romaniw, Co-Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO); and Mr. Damian Nasada, an Australian citizen who has been supporting Ukraine in every way, met with Most Rev. Peter A. Comensoli, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, and Mrs. Annie Carrett, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
The meeting was dedicated to the tragic events in Ukraine that we are remembering these days: the 10th anniversary of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and the 2nd anniversary of the full-scale war. During the meeting, the participants discussed a variety of topics and ideas related to how the Catholic Church in Australia, and particularly the Archdiocese of Melbourne, can help Ukraine. The meeting participants also considered options for comprehensive social and psychological assistance for Ukrainians who arrived in Australia after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine.
During the meeting, Archbishop Peter Comensoli handed Bishop Mykola a letter of appeal, in which he wrote, among other things, “In these past two years, we have kept the people of Ukraine in our hearts and prayers and sought ways to support those who have found refuge here in Australia.” Bishop Peter emphasised that it was Bishop Mykola Bychok’s regular reports and appeals to Australian bishops about the situation in Ukraine that inspired him and other bishops to visit Ukraine, particularly Lviv, Kyiv, Irpin, and Bucha. “We heard first-hand of both the pain and loss — and of the great courage and hope held by the Ukrainian peoples,” Bishop Peter said in the letter. The Archbishop also expressed his support for Ukraine and for the Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church here in Australia and handed over to Bishop Mykola a donation collected by the faithful of the Archdiocese of Melbourne to support those displaced by the war in Ukraine and those who have sought refuge in Australia.
“When I came to Archbishop Peter Comensoli, I noticed that in the room where our meeting took place and where all official meetings of Bishop Peter take place, there is an icon of the Most Holy Mother of God from our church in Irpin in a prominent place — Bishop Mykola shared his impressions. — In August 2023, a delegation of Australian bishops and laity, including Bishop Peter and Mrs. Annie Carrett, visited Ukraine to express their support and condolences to the Ukrainian people during the war with the Russian occupiers. It was during this visit that they took a picture of the icon of the Mother of God, and later, when they returned to Melbourne, they made a copy of the icon and displayed it in the meeting room. For me, this fact is extremely telling; it is a demonstration of the connection with Ukraine and a symbol that the Catholic Church in Australia supports the Ukrainian people in these difficult times.”
