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As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, seven American cardinals have sponsored a new effort to heal the suffering of the Ukrainian people caused by Russia’s invasion.
On February 20, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops of the United States announced that they had reorganized the Metropolia Humanitarian Assistance Fund as the “Ukraine War Wounds Healing Fund.”
In a report accompanying the announcement, the four bishops said the fund’s purpose was to “heal the physical, emotional and spiritual wounds inflicted by the criminal Russian invasion.” They are: Metropolitan Archbishop Boris Gudziak of the Diocese of Philadelphia; Bishop Paul Chomnicki of the Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut; Bishop Benedict Alexichuk of St. Nicholas Parish in Chicago;and Bishop Bodan J. Danilo of St. Joseph Parish in Parma, Ohio.
In their report, the U.S.-Ukrainian bishops said, “Among other things…seven cardinals of the U.S. Catholic Church: Cardinal Blaise J. Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, and Timothy M. Justin. I am grateful to the Cardinal.” Cardinal Dolan of New York, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, and Cardinal Joseph William Tobin of Newark — they serve as patrons. I readily agreed. ” of the new fund.
The Metropolia Fund, which represents four dioceses of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States, was established in January 2022 as Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border signaled an invasion.
Approximately 6,400 donors have contributed more than $7.5 million in total, with $7.2 million distributed to date. All donations to the fund are made through trusted sources affiliated with the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, or UGCC. Dedicated to humanitarian projects run by non-profit organizations.
The donations were allocated to five priority support areas. internally displaced persons and refugees (currently totaling 3.7 million and 6.5 million, respectively, according to the UN Displacement Tracking Matrix and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees); Medication and first aid. church service. Emergency food assistance. and supply chain and logistics.
Assistance provided by the fund includes over 13,000 hemostatic bandages and gauze, 11,000 tourniquets, 200 traumatic head injury kits, three anesthesia machines, and the establishment of a fully stocked operating room. , which included more than 27,000 food kits and nutrition for even more people. Over 100,000 people.
The fund had no administrative costs because Philadelphia Archeology Church staff and volunteers spent their time processing donations.
“Gifts from individuals and families, Catholic and public school students, dioceses and dioceses across the country, fraternal organizations and businesses have made a difference,” the bishops said in their report. “Dear friends, you have walked alongside the priests serving near the front lines and supported the parish network of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.…You have brought comfort and compassion and restored hope. Ta.”
The new fund has already been seeded with major gifts from the Archdiocese of Boston and the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, which contributed $500,000 and $529,056, respectively, to the Long Term Assistance Fund under the umbrella of the Metropolia Fund. .
This $1,029,056 will be transferred to the Ukraine War Wounds Healing Fund and, along with new donations, will help provide urgently needed assistance to address the invisible wounds of war.
The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 9.6 million Ukrainians may be experiencing mental health conditions as a result of the Russian war.
The invasion continues an offensive launched in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and support from military separatists in Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and is a continuation of an offensive launched in 2014 by the New Lines Institute and the Raul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights. Two joint reports have labeled it a genocide. Ukraine has reported over 125,834 war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine since February 2022.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Maria of illegally deporting at least 19,546 children from the occupied territories of Ukraine and transferring them to the Russian Federation. An arrest warrant has been issued for Lviva-Belova.
“The solidarity shown by the brave Ukrainian people and people of good will who are defending freedom with courage and resilience is a source of genuine hope that God’s truth will spread,” the U.S. Ukrainian Catholic bishops said in their report. There is,” he said.
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