ROME — The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis has dispatched two cardinals to Poland and Hungary to assist Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal Almoner, has left Rome and is headed toward the Polish border with Ukraine, “where he will visit refugees and volunteers in shelters and homes,” the Vatican communiqué declares.
For his part, Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny, the acting Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will travel to Hungary on Tuesday “to visit some reception centers for the migrants coming from Ukraine.”
Both of the cardinals “are directed to Ukraine and depending on the situation they intend to reach the Country in the coming days,” the text states.
The message noted that Cardinal Czerny, who heads up the Vatican’s office for migrants and refugees, will highlight “the sad similarity between the Ukrainians’ sufferings and the protracted conflicts that no longer attract the world’s attention,” such as those in Yemen, Syria, and Ethiopia.
In addition, “he will raise concern that African and Asian residents in Ukraine, also suffering fear and displacement, be allowed to seek refuge without discrimination,” the communiqué said, while adding that there are also worrisome reports of “increasing activities of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants at the borders and in the neighboring countries.”
“Since most of the people fleeing are believers, he will affirm that religious assistance should be offered to everyone, with sensitivity to ecumenical and interfaith differences,” the text reads.