The Kircher Network, the network of Jesuit universities and colleges in Europe and the Near East, shares in the concern and outrage of so many at the current situation in Ukraine.
We join in Pope Francis’s call that all parties «refrain from any action that would cause more suffering.» We heed the Pope’s reminder of Jesus’s teaching: «the diabolical senselessness of violence is answered with God’s weapons, with prayer and fasting.»
The most pressing needs of the civil population in Ukraine are currently on the ground. A humanitarian emergency has now materialized. The Jesuit Provinces of Central-Eastern Europe and the Jesuit Refugee Service in Europe, under the umbrella of the Conference of European Provincials, have been working with others to care for the refugee population in Ukraine and its bordering countries. The Kircher Network strongly supports this international effort and appeals for donations. If you are able to respond, please follow this link.
We express our solidarity with Ukrainian universities, staff, and students. Our member institutions, especially in Poland, are already engaged in campaigns to support immigrants and students from Ukrainian universities. We are looking at practical ways for the Kircher Network as a whole to support these efforts.
March 7th, 2022
