Interview with Father Josafat Boyko, priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word in the country.
ACN – It is one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Catholic Church, a minority in a mostly Orthodox country, continues to be at the forefront of helping the most needy and offering hope to those who suffer the most. He is carrying out an enormous pastoral and assistance mission with the poorest, the wounded, the sick and those who have lost everything, in the midst of a great famine that affects everyone. Father Josafat Boyko, superior of the Institute of the Incarnate Word in the diocese of Ivano-Frankivsk, in the west of the country, knows this well. The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke with him on Radio Maria’s «Persecuted but not forgotten» program.
What is the current situation like in Ukraine and in the area where you are?
I live in the western part of Ukraine, the most peaceful area, although we have also suffered attacks. For the last two weeks we have had electricity 24 hours a day. Here so far we have had electricity only during certain hours. But the eastern and central part of Ukraine is still under bombs, the war is still going on there and people are dying every day. I want to remind that we have been suffering from this conflict since 2014, with the conflict in the Donbas, since that year there are Russian troops who want to occupy Ukrainian territory.
How are your fellow priests in the occupied areas or at the front?
We know that many of our priests of the Greek-Ukrainian and Latin Catholic Church have had to leave their places of work for safety. Two priests of our congregation are in the occupied zone, they have not been able to leave, although they are well. There are two other priests, Redemptorist religious, who were detained by the Russian troops and we do not know how they are, they have been imprisoned. And there are two more Catholic priests missing. But no one knows the precise number of dead and wounded. Whole towns have been destroyed and more than half of the people have fled their homes. There are missing people and people who have been forced to flee to Russia of whom almost nothing is known. The priests who have a chance to stay with their people are still with them. Our priests also visit areas on the war front, whenever they can, but they come and go, they cannot stay for safety
How has your mission changed since the beginning of the war?
Our work has increased a lot. Here in the west we have received thousands of refugees, looking for a safe place, food, medicine and a way out of the country. To this day we continue to distribute all the aid we receive to those in need and from time to time we send aid to the center and east of the country, where it is badly needed. In addition to this social aid, we have to accompany people psychologically and spiritually, so that they do not lose hope and do not lose faith in God. There are many people in Eastern Ukraine who had no faith, because the long years of communism have destroyed all Christian and human values.
What do you say to the parishioners in the face of this horror of a year of war?
Sometimes you have to be at their side and that helps. Sometimes praying or listening to them helps. At other times, of course, you have to help them with material goods, offer them a place to live, etc. But I always tell the refugees when we feed them or find them a place to live, that we do it because there are people who are believers, who live Christian values and as believers they are driven by the Gospel to help. We help because Jesus tells us to help our neighbor. Sometimes they do not understand this, but I tell them that this help comes from people who work, pray, believe in God and participate in the sacraments. I try to transmit these values to them in addition to giving them help.
Have you ever thought of leaving the country, like those 8 million Ukrainian refugees?
I have never thought about it. Since 2005, when I returned from my studies in Rome, I have always wanted to work among the people of my country. Our area, western Ukraine, is mostly Catholic and there is an intense pastoral life here. The Ukrainians greatly appreciate the presence and help of the priests and this has always been a source of joy for me and has given me the strength to continue in my country.
What would be your main needs now and how can we help them from here?
First I want to thank all the people who help us from Spain, and because you have received many Ukrainians, you have opened your houses. This is the heart of a Christian Europe, although many do not want to talk about it today. Thank you for your help. The main help is prayer and speaking the truth about the war, because truly Russia has invaded us and they are killing many people. So thanks to Radio Maria for speaking about this. Thanks to Aid to the Church in Need for helping materially and spiritually, because when you help us as pastors, you allow people to continue to receive our help.
When is this war going to end and how can we make it end?
We don’t know when it will end. But we are believers and we believe that God is going to stop this war at the right time. All this year we have kept in mind the words of Our Lady of Fatima who asked us to pray for the conversion of Russia, because if these leaders who have provoked the war are not converted, this anti-human and anti-Christian ideology will spread all over the world. We know that God is going to change this. During these last few months we have been able to finish building a nursery school next to our parish. So while in some places in Ukraine they are destroying schools, we are building hope, this is a testimony that we have faith in God and that this war will end.