Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is to visit Poland and Slovakia this week to meet Ukrainian refugees.

The purpose of the visit is to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of the conflict, with the cardinal being taken around receiving centres along the Polish and Slovak borders with Ukraine, as well as in Kracow and Warsaw.

Cardinal Dolan also wishes to show gratitude and solidarity with the caregivers — the priests, sisters and laity who have generously responded in meeting the needs of those who have fled their homes.

The cardinal’s visit will highlight the Catholic Church’s numerous initiatives in providing refugees, regardless of creed, with shelter, clothing, food, medical care, counselling and safety.

To date, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, of which Cardinal Dolan is chair, has rushed nearly $2 million in emergency aid to support these efforts in Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.   

The cardinal also intends to express support for the leadership of the local churches. The delegation will meet with the leaders of the Greek Catholic and Latin churches, who have spearheaded many of these initiatives, and gather for prayers and silence with other church leaders. 

Finally, he intends to assert the Christian commitment to support all those devastated by the evils of war, and to raise awareness of the human cost for this unprovoked aggression.

His visit comes after Pope Francis renewed his call for a truce in Ukraine, saying “the attack must be stopped”.

“Today marks two months since the beginning of this war,” Pope said on Divine Mercy Sunday.

“Instead of stopping, the war has worsened. It is sad that in these days, which are the holiest and most solemn for all Christians, the deadly roar of weapons is heard rather than the sound of bells announcing the Resurrection; and it is sad that weapons are increasingly taking the place of words,” he continued.

“I renew my appeal for an Easter truce, a minimal and tangible sign of a desire for peace. The attack must be stopped, to respond to the suffering of the exhausted population; it must stop.”

He added: “I ask everyone to increase prayer for peace and to have the courage to say, to show that peace is possible. Political leaders, please, listen to the voice of the people, who want peace, not an escalation of the conflict.”

In an Easter message to the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis also expressed hope that the Holy Spirit would “make us true peacemakers, especially for war-torn Ukraine”, according to Catholic News Agency.

In a letter published on Sunday on the Moscow Patriarchate’s website, the pope wrote: “May the Holy Spirit transform our hearts and make us true peacemakers, especially for war-torn Ukraine, so that the great Easter passage from death to new life in Christ may become a reality for the Ukrainian people, who long for a new dawn that will end the darkness of war.”

Vatican News, the online news portal of the Holy See, said that the Easter greeting was sent not only to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia but also to the heads of other Eastern Churches that celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar.

Pope Francis announced last week that the Vatican had cancelled plans for a June summit with Patriarch Kirill in Jerusalem. It would have been the second meeting between the two leaders since their historic encounter in Cuba in 2016.

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