Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 4, 2025 /
12:40 pm
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a Lenten reflection on Monday with a message calling for a “just peace” in Ukraine.
“As we begin the holy season of Lent, a time of prayer, penance, and charity, we join our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his solidarity with the ‘martyred people of Ukraine,’” the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, wrote. “We pray and hope that the United States, in concert with the wider international community, works with perseverance for a just peace and an end to aggression.”
This is the first time Broglio has issued a Lenten reflection since he was elected USCCB president in 2022. For the past three years he has served in the role, the USCCB’s Lenten message has echoed the words of Pope Francis and announced its Ash Wednesday collections.
Broglio’s unprecedented reflection comes after a contentious meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that took place in front of the White House press corps in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.
“As Catholics, we are acutely aware that every past occupation of Ukraine has resulted in various degrees of repression of the Catholic Church in the country; we must not tolerate the forcing of our brothers and sisters underground again,” he stated. “I echo Pope Francis’ plea for respecting the religious freedom of all Ukrainians: ‘Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!’”
Broglio further invited American Catholics to offer their prayers and sacrifices for “a truly just peace in Ukraine” this Lenten season, noting the USCCB’s annual collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe to be taken up by dioceses on Ash Wednesday.
“By contributing to this collection, Catholics in the United States can be assured that their assistance will directly help their struggling brothers and sisters in Ukraine as well as in over 20 other countries in the region,” he said.
Madalaine Elhabbal is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency based at EWTN’s Washington, D.C., bureau. She has been published by CatholicVote and has also worked as foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.
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