Cardinals Koch and Ayuso: United with Pope, may thoughts of peace prevail
Ahead of Ash Wednesday, 2 March, Cardinals Kurt Koch and Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot renewed Pope Francis’ invitation for a Day of Fasting and Prayer for Ukraine: “We appeal to consciences with the arms of God to ask for an end to the war and be in solidarity with those who are suffering.”
By Tiziana Campisi and Felipe Herrera
As concerns about the war in Ukraine grow around the world, Cardinals Kurt Koch and Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot – presidents respectively of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue – joined the appeal for peace launched by the Pope last week. “Jesus taught us that the diabolical senselessness of violence is answered with God’s weapons, with prayer and fasting,” Pope Francis said at the end of the general audience on 23 February, asking that Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, be a day dedicated to Ukraine, encouraging believers in a special way to pray intensely. The two dicastery heads emphasized the importance of the Pope’s invitation and urge all Catholics, as well as people of other faiths, to be united in prayer for peace.
