VATICAN CITY • Polish Archbishop
Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan told Pope Francis that the
Catholic Church in Poland is continuing its efforts to assist the countless
refugees from Ukraine fleeing Russia's destructive war in the
country.
Archbishop Gadecki,
president of the Polish bishops' conference, met with the Pope March
28 and informed him of the "activities that the Church in Poland undertook
immediately after the outbreak of war."
"In particular, the
president highlighted the enormous grassroots mobilization and the commitment
of Polish parishes, which, at the local level, organize food, lodging,
transportation, medical and psychological assistance, legal support, education
for children, and a variety of other aid activities, depending on current
needs," the conference said in a statement released after the meeting.
As of March 28, of the nearly 4
million people who fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country over
a month ago, more than 2.2 million Ukrainian refugees have crossed over to
neighboring Poland, the U.N. Refugee Agency reported.
After thanking Pope Francis
for the March 25 consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, Archbishop Gadecki told the Pope that the
Catholic Church in Poland is not only aiding refugees entering the country but
also providing "support for those who, despite the war, remained in their
country."
The Church's assistance, the
conference said, is provided by Caritas Poland, as well as many of the
country's religious men and women, priests and seminarians.
The Catholic Church in Poland is
joining with other Christian denominations "for a just peace" and
Archbishop Gadecki informed the Pope of his meeting with
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople scheduled for March 29 in
Warsaw, the statement said.
The Polish bishops' conference
said Archbishop Gadecki also spoke with Pope Francis about
"the difficulties caused for the universal Church by the issues raised –
in the words of the Pope – by the 'Synodal Path' in Germany."
Pope Francis, the bishops'
conference said, "distances himself from this initiative."
The Catholic Church in Germany
launched the Synodal Path in 2019 and for the past two years has debated the
issues of power, sexual morality, priestly life and the role of women in the Church.
The aim is to restore trust lost
in the clergy abuse scandal after the German bishops' conference released a
study that revealed an estimated 3,700 cases of sexual abuse reported in the
German Church from 1946 to 2014.
However, in a letter to Catholics
in Germany in 2019, Pope Francis urged them to ensure that their
"synodal path" was guided by the Holy Spirit with patience and was
not simply a "search for immediate results that generate quick and
immediate consequences but are ephemeral due to the lack of maturity or because
they do not respond to the vocation to which we are called."