Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, moderated panels on war and persecution at the New York Encounter. The Bishop shared his experience spending time with wartime clergy from Ukraine in New York City. Fernandes moderated a panel titled “A Home in the Storm” featuring Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Father Wojciech Stasiewicz. The experience at the New York Encounter has significantly influenced Bishop Fernandes' perspective on his role as a bishop.
12 days ago
Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, moderated a panel titled “A Home in the Storm” at the New York Encounter on February 14, 2026.1 2
The panel featured Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Father Wojciech Stasiewicz, director of Caritas-Spes in the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia Diocese.1 2
Bishop Honcharuk described devastation from war, including power outages amid freezing temperatures.1 2
Ukrainian Catholics have turned every parish into a Caritas center despite constant fear.1 2
Fernandes noted the Ukrainians' focus remained on Christ, not politics or aid requests.1 2
He praised their readiness to die as good shepherds, likening them to Iron Curtain confessors.1 2
Honcharuk authorized priests, including himself, to perform exorcisms against "invisible forces."1 2
He shared stories of divine providence protecting Ukraine, reinforcing faith amid helplessness.1 2
As son of Indian immigrants, Fernandes felt inspired, wanting to "touch" them to become holier.1 2
He called them "two living saints" and drew lessons for his comfortable U.S. ministry.1 2
Fernandes linked Ukrainian dignity ("to be is to have dignity") to facing U.S. polarization.1 2
He urged charity over contentiousness, tying abortion violence to broader societal conflict.1 2
Explore how wartime Catholic clergy exemplify sanctity amid conflict
Catholic clergy during times of war have consistently demonstrated sanctity through unwavering fidelity to their vocation, sharing the sufferings of their people, administering sacraments amid peril, and witnessing to Christ's love even unto martyrdom. Papal teachings and historical accounts portray them as shepherds who refuse to abandon their flocks, embodying evangelical perfection and fostering peace through charity.
Military chaplains represent a profound expression of priestly sanctity, integrating Gospel light into the harsh realities of armed conflict. Since the unification of Italy, the Church has organized spiritual care for armed forces, with chaplains sharing soldiers' lives and challenges to offer sacraments and divine grace. Pope John Paul II emphasized their vocation to witness respect for human dignity—even of adversaries and civilian victims—amid combat, promoting inter arma caritas (charity under arms). This ethical imperative elevates humanitarian law beyond jurisprudence into a Christian mandate.
Military chaplains, inspired by Christ's love, are called by their special vocation to witness that even in the midst of the harshest combats, it is always possible, and only right, to respect the dignity of the military adversary, the dignity of civilian victims, the indelible dignity of every human being involved in armed conflict.
Such service, often humble and hidden, produces saints like Blessed Secondo Pollo, who died at 33 in 1941 on the Montenegro front, struck by machine-gun fire while aiding wounded Alpine soldiers. His sacrifice intercedes for peace in war-torn regions, illustrating how clergy's blood sanctifies conflict zones.
Sanctity shines brightest when clergy confront mortal danger without fleeing, prioritizing eternal salvation over temporal safety. St. Augustine likened the Church to a ship in a storm, arguing clergy must not abandon it—even leaping into a "small boat"—lest laity perish eternally without sacraments. Pope Leo XIII reinforced this: priests must not desist from their mission despite multiplying dangers, as trials forge virtue and amplify the Church's civilizing influence.
Pope Pius XII highlighted the Arch-Abbey of Monte Cassino's destruction in World War II, where only St. Benedict's crypt survived amid regional devastation, symbolizing enduring faith amid ruin. Similarly, post-World War I French clergy, forgetting insults, performed glorious deeds that yearned for religious peace. These accounts affirm that wartime clergy's steadfastness preserves faith's purity and guides souls from "poisoned pastures."
The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church offers vivid 20th-century models, where clergy endured Nazi and Communist persecutions, beatified as icons of the Beatitudes. Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi, expelled during World War I and imprisoned, manifested fidelity to the Apostolic See, ready for martyrdom. His successors, like Cardinal Josyf Slipyj and others, followed, with 25 martyrs (bishops, priests, religious, laity) beatified in 2001, representing countless "anonymous heroes" who chose death over renouncing faith.
These brothers and sisters of ours are the representatives that are known out of a multitude of anonymous heroes... who in the course of the twentieth century, the "century of martyrdom", underwent persecution, violence and death rather than renounce their faith.
Priests like Emilian Kovch (Nazi martyrdom) and Theodore Romzha (fidelity to Peter) exemplify this, as does Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska, serving the marginalized in suffering. Pope John Paul II praised their "unconquered witness" as seed for new Christians, stronger than death. Even in legal protections like the 1933 Concordat with Germany, the State's duty to shield clergy underscores their vital role.
Papal magisterium links wartime sanctity to evangelical counsels and superior interior holiness required for priesthood. Pope John XXIII noted priests need greater sanctity than religious for their functions, urging diocesan clergy toward perfection via pious societies. Pius XI invoked predecessors like Pius X, who exalted clerical holiness amid crises. Pius XII stressed native clergy formation for apostolic zeal, even laying down lives for their people. Historical champions like Gregory VII defended clerical sanctity against abuses.
This forms a continuum: clergy as "heralds and ministers" of religion, fostering piety despite upheavals.
Pope Leo XIV, addressing the Ukrainian Synod in 2025 amid Russia's invasion, lauded their hope amid rubble—serving wounded souls as signs of God's strength. He united with their communion, invoking Mary for peace, affirming clergy's consoling presence. This mirrors Pius XII's solidarity with persecuted faithful "persevering in faith... joined to the Roman Pontiff."
In summary, wartime Catholic clergy exemplify sanctity by embodying Christ's charity inter arma, persevering in peril, and offering ultimate witness through martyrdom. From Italian chaplains to Ukrainian martyrs, they illuminate dignity, foster reconciliation, and seed renewal, as papal sources consistently teach. Their legacy calls all to holiness, proving grace triumphs over conflict.