Bishops pray for peace with Ukrainian refugees
to die Austrian bishops met refugees from Ukraine as part of their general assembly and prayed with them for peace in their homeland. Among the fifty or so war refugees was a group of deaf and mute children who are currently housed in the Marillac church in Innsbruck. The place of encounter and prayer on Monday evening was the Maria Waldrast pilgrimage monastery not far from the venue of the bishops’ conference in Matrei am Brenner.
The group – among them almost exclusively Ukrainian mothers with their children and young adults – was accompanied by Yuriy Kolasa, Vicar General in the Ordinariate for the faithful of the Catholic Eastern Churches in Austria. “While we are here together, rockets are falling in residential areas in all parts of Ukraine,” the priest, who comes from the Caribbean archeparchy of Lemberg, described the situation during the service with the bishops. “There are already thousands of victims, including women, women and the elderly.” At the same time, a “humanitarian catastrophe” is developing in the country. Millions are fleeing, thousands of women and children are looking for protection in Austria.
Against this background, Kolasa, on behalf of the refugees, was “deeply touched” by the great solidarity and helpfulness in Austria. “Today you gave these refugee families back their human dignity and zest for life,” said Kolasa, addressing the bishops who had invited to dinner in the monastery after the service.
As part of the service with the bishops, Kolasa and a small choir from the Ukrainian congregation in Innsbruck prayed and sang the Hymnos Akathistos. This Marian praise from Constantinople is considered the world’s oldest Marian poem. It has been sung in the Byzantine Eastern Church tradition for over 1,200 years, “in Ukraine and also in Russia,” as Kolasa pointed out.
The place of pilgrimage Maria Waldrast and the associated Servite monastery were first mentioned in 1392. The monastery is located at 1,641 meters below the Serles, the “high altar of Tyrol”. This makes it one of the highest monasteries in Europe.
The Maria Waldrast pilgrims also include Ukrainian Catholics who have formed a community in Innsbruck since 1899. The reason was also the fact that Catholic priests regularly studied theology at the Canisianum in Innsbruck. The later major archbishop of the Greek Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Jossyf Slipyj (1892-1984), is one of the famous Uniate clergymen who established their academic training in Innsbruck.
Fraternity instead of “intoxication potential of power”
The second day of the plenary assembly of the bishops’ conference was opened on Tuesday morning with a mass in the St. Michael’s educational center. In the sermon, the auxiliary bishop of Vienna, Franz Scharl, addressed the Gospel of the day, which “is like chili: hot and healthy”. The words of Jesus that for Christians “there is only one Father, one Master and one Teacher” are an enduring standard and claim. “The greatest among you shall be your servant”, this directive of the Lord is directed against the “intoxication potential of power” and the “danger of self-portrayal”.
Pope Francis has the spirit of these words of Jesus last in the encyclical “Fratelli tutti” updated to the burning challenges for world and church. According to Scharl, the papal document with the general perspective of brotherhood also offers a Christian response to the war in Ukraine.
Worship service on Wednesday in Götzens
The liturgical highlight of the four-day plenary assembly of the episcopacy is an evening service with the members of the bishops’ conference on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the pilgrimage church of St. Peter and Paul in Götzens, to which the faithful are invited. The celebration will be presided over by Innsbruck Bishop Hermann Glettler, who will also preach. The apostolic nuncio in Austria, Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, will also celebrate the festive service and take part in the bishops’ meeting beforehand.
A customary reception for the episcopacy takes place before the festive Mass at 6:30 p.m. During and after this there WILL be a meeting between the bishops and political and church representatives in Tyrol. On behalf of Governor Günther Platter, who is in quarantine at home due to a corona infection, his deputy Josef Geisler will take part. The Tyrolean Parliament will be represented by its President Sonja Ledl-Rossmann and its Vice-President Sophia Kircher. In addition to former Governor Herwig van Staa, the former Bishop of Innsbruck and Archbishop Emeritus of Salzburg Alois Kothgasser is also expected. The Evangelical Church will be represented by its Superintendent Olivier Dantine.
The plenary assembly of bishops ends on Thursday. Archbishop Lackner will provide information on the results of the bishops’ conference at a press conference on Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. (Club Stephansplatz 4, Stephansplatz 4, 1010 Vienna).
Source: catpress