Head of UGCC thanks Cardinal Dziwisz for caution against the murderous ideology of the “Russkiy mir” and solidarity with Ukraine
The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, expressed gratitude to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow, for his word of warning against the murderous ideology of the Russkiy mir and his urge to put all efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which he delivered as a papal envoy during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the coronation of the icon of Our Lady of Koden.
Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz preaches in the shrine in Koden, August 15, 2023
“I would like to express my deep gratitude for the words said in the sermon during the 300th anniversary of the coronation of the image of Our Lady of Koden — about the tragedy brought by the idolatrous ideology of the self-proclaimed Russkiy mir which takes away from our brothers and sisters in Ukraine their land, the right to life, their language and culture, sow death and destruction and creates fear of an even larger catastrophe. Such an unequivocal statement by Your Eminence in the status of a special envoy of the Holy Father during a ceremony that gathered so many faithful was astonishing to us and a manifestation of the great support you have extended through your authority to the Ukrainian people who are defending their independence and territorial integrity,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav wrote in the letter.
Cardinal Dziwisz, as papal envoy, presided over the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the coronation of the icon of Our Lady of Koden, Queen of Podlasie — Mother of Unity, which took place on August 15 in the Koden Shrine in the Diocese of Siedlce.
“We cannot tolerate what is happening in Europe, in front of the whole world, a tragedy that aims to deprive our brothers and sisters in Ukraine of their land, their right to life, their language and culture, and sows death and destruction,” the cardinal said in his homily. “The hand of Cain must be stopped,” he emphasized.
When appointing Cardinal Dziwisz as his envoy, Pope Francis noted in his letter that the sanctuary of Our Lady of Kodno is a place of miracles where many people come to pray and entrust their lives to Mary. Here, then-Metropolitan of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, made a pilgrimage before his election as Bishop of Rome. The future Pope then drew attention to the unique features of the Mother of Christ. “Mary,” the preacher said, “unites the people of God. But we are on a land where this unity of the people of God had a specific historical significance. That was the place where the divided Churches of the West and the East met.” During his visit to Koden, John Paul II said that in Podlasie, in Eastern Poland, “there was a need for the presence of a Mother who unites, who knows all her children, regardless of whether they speak Polish, Russian, or Lithuanian.”
The UGCC Department for Information
