Archbishop: We must say no to war, we must say yes to peace and we must pray

The Most Reverend John Wilson spoke passionately to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community in the UK about the disastrous consequences that war has brought to Ukraine.

The Archbishop of Southwark was invited to preach at the Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in central London on Sunday 27 February.

He spoke to us afterwards:

"The gospel today in the Ukrainian liturgy is the gospel of the Last Judgment. Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me, said the Lord Jesus. We must hear these words. They must cut into our hearts.

"They're not just words for Christians, they're words for any decent person, that what we're doing to others, we're doing to Christ. We are misusing the gifts that we have to build up for peace by destroying through war. And so this must cease.

"This is the message of Christ, this is the message of every right thinking person - every right thinking nation. We must say no to war, we must say yes to peace and we must pray. We can feel powerless when we look on. We can give material support. We need to do that individually and as nations and governments, but as believers, as disciples of Christ. We must pray."