This year\u2019s New York Encounter<\/a> is centered on the theme \u201cWhere Everything Is Waiting for You,\u201d focusing on \u201cthe reemerging human desire for authentic belonging amid global isolation, emphasizing how freedom, truth, forgiveness, and dignity foster certainty and openness in true community.\u201d The event will continue through Feb. 15.<\/p>\n\u201cWe can say that, thanks to God, thanks to our faith, we have a strong foundation,\u201d said Bishop Honcharuk, who compared the current situation in Ukraine to the Titanic. The bishop described the struggles faced by Ukrainians today, including the obliteration of power grids across the country, below-freezing temperatures, and ongoing drone and missile strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in the middle of a tempest of suffering and pain,\u201d he said. \u201cIn this sense, we\u2019re always expecting or waiting for death, but in the midst of all that, we are trying to be able to love and to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bishop reflected during his remarks that survival for him has been in keeping busy with the demands of his role, which extend far beyond pastoral care due to the humanitarian aid role the Church in Ukraine has assumed.<\/p>\n
From traveling to precarious locations to preside over funeral services, to thawing frozen generators, the bishop remains occupied.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were to stop and sit and look at it, and try to deepen what is happening, you wouldn\u2019t be able to stand it. There are many instances where people lose their minds, they close in on themselves.\u201d This, he said, \u201cis the most terrible thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Honcharuk said Christ\u2019s love is what compels him to remain with his people and that ultimately, having faith in God is what brings peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beginning of war is in the hearts of men,\u201d the bishop said. \u201cWhen there is no God, a person does not feel like someone. He has to prove all the time to himself and to others that he is someone. He exploits everything to show that he is someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, he said, a person\u2019s encounter with God is where peace begins.<\/p>\n
Father Stasiewicz also shared how his work with Caritas has acted as both a humanitarian hub for Ukrainians and as a ministry of faithful presence and community throughout the war.<\/p>\n
The priest emphasized the need to be in community, especially during conflict, otherwise \u201cyou\u2019re carrying all this burden by yourself, and you have nobody to help you, or to sustain you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Papal Nuncio to the U.S. Cardinal Christophe Pierre attended the panel, which took place in the main auditorium of the Metropolitan Pavilion. The event was at maximum capacity, and attendees gave a warm standing ovation to the Ukrainian bishop and priest for several minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018We can say that, thanks to God, thanks to our faith, we have a strong foundation,\u2019 Bishop Pavlo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,44159,11,10,57240,9046,57241],"class_list":{"0":"post-134582","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-encounter","10":"tag-new-york-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-news","12":"tag-prayers-for-peace","13":"tag-ukraine","14":"tag-ukrainian-catholics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}