SW News: The Roman and Greek Catholic Bishops of Ukraine have named the coming year a "Year of Mercy" to show support for the poor and needy, particularly those who are most affected by the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The bishops proclaimed the 12-month period beginning on November 27 and ending on the Feast of Christ the King on November 26, 2023, as the "Year of Mercy." According to the bishops, this period should help people become more understanding of the needs of their neighbors who are already struggling over the winter and are bearing an increasing amount of the cost of the conflict.

Following Russia's invasion on February 24, the war between Russia and Ukraine is currently in its ninth month. The continued violence has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people, including those who fled domestically and are now living as refugees overseas.

In recent weeks, Russian missile attacks have targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, resulting in significant outages and power shortages that have left millions without heat or electricity as the chilly winter temperatures continue to drop. Russian troops have been accused of committing war crimes in occupied cities.

The Roman Catholic bishops of Ukraine said in their statement that they had a meeting with Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Vatican's envoy in that country, during which the humanitarian situation and the Holy See's involvement in the release of detainees were discussed.

The state of regional initiatives taking place as part of the pope's Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which is currently in its second, continental stage, was also updated. This included information on child protection efforts in Ukraine and the status of those efforts.

Two Greek Catholic priests were arrested by Russian authorities in Berdyansk, in the Donetsk Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, for allegedly housing explosives with the intent to engage in "guerilla" activities against the Russian army. The Donetsk Exarchate issued a statement in which it said that the accusations were "false" and "slanderous," since the priests had never strayed beyond the pastoral confines of their ministry, and that they amounted to a common tactic used by Soviet-era propaganda to discredit the clergy.

The exarchate claimed that the employment of these tactics demonstrates a "total disrespect for the fundamental norms of human rights."