Silence kills

Speaking on the fourth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said: “Ukraine fights, Ukraine wins, but we ask the world to show solidarity with us and not be silent because the word saves, the word builds peace. Silence and indifference kill. Do everything to stop the aggressor and make him leave the Ukrainian land. Whoever you are, whether you are heads of states and parliaments, whether you are politicians, military, Church leaders, do your part: say your word in support for Ukraine.”

The virus of lies

In preparation for elections on May 9, the bishops of the Philippines published a pastoral letter urging people to “be mindful of the right and also the duty to use their free vote to further the common good”. They noted “the proliferation of fake news and false stories; disinformation – the sowing of false information and false narratives to influence public opinion, hide the truth, defame and blackmail. There are thousands of trolls spreading the virus of lies.”

Resisting temptation

In his message for Lent, Pope Francis exhorted people: “Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives. Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance, knowing that God never tires of forgiving. Let us not grow tired of fighting against concupiscence, that weakness which induces to selfishness and all evil, and finds in the course of history a variety of ways to lure men and women into sin. One of these is addiction to digital media, which impoverishes human relationships. Lent is a propitious time to resist these temptations and cultivate instead a more integral form of human communication made up of ‘authentic encounters’, face-to-face and in person.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)