Local bishop heads to Ukraine
Posted February 21, 2014 12:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – The Ukrainian-Catholic bishop of BC is headed to Kiev on Friday for talks with other church leaders and other social organizations.
The last time the Most Reverend Ken Nowakowski was in Kiev was in December, when he found himself praying over protesters and police in the city’s main square.
Nowakowski won’t say if he’ll be venturing to ground zero of the protests once again, but he stresses the church’s non-political role.
“The church remains neutral. We have not called for a regime change. We have called for a peaceful solution to this. Our role there is to be keepers of the peace, to pray and to be with the people.”
Religious leaders continue to be in the thick of events in Kiev. Nowakowski says various church leaders are conducting prayer services every hour at the protest site.
“I think it’s very important for the priests, the clergy, religious leaders to remain, and to be with, the people especially at these times.”
He points out social agencies are busy, providing help for the wounded at makeshift hospitals and food at protest camps.
He recalls how Pope Francis recently said that good shepherds should smell like their flock. He says he didn’t understand the significance of that statement until he himself came away from Kiev in December bathed in a smokey stench from fires smouldering in the square.
