Global Ministries University joins the chorus of educational institutions, political and religious leaders, and faith communities around the world in condemning the invasion of Ukraine. World opinion is on the side of peace not conflict.

War is never the answer. The Ukrainian people face loss of life, mass destruction of their homeland, economic and environmental ruin, and a bleak future of deprivation. The Russian people do not want this war either and are protesting in the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The humanitarian consequences will be devastating. Three million people have been displaced.

Vladimir Putin has violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. In addition, he has breached the treaties Russia has signed and authorized, including the Charter of the United Nations.

GMU endorses the response of United Nations Secretary General António Guterres urging “immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, preventing any actions and statements that may further escalate the dangerous situation in and around Ukraine and prioritizing diplomacy to address all issues peacefully.”

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Like the world in the 1930’s, we stand on the edge of an abyss. We can choose to step back from the brink and stop a dictator’s aggression or we can allow the horrors of war to consume us again.

Honoring Women’s History Month for the entire year, Global Ministries University, the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies at Tangaza University and Harmony Institute of Kenya will co-sponsor "Building Human Solidarity: The Voices of Women," a series of bi-monthly hour-long sessions on YouTube in which women who are leaders in their fields will share their diverse perspectives.

The first of these presentations will take place on:

On the Fratelli Tutti Conference YouTube Channel

In collaboration with the People's Catholic Seminary, this course offers an overview of contemporary social justice issues from the perspective of different faith traditions and highlights the work of interfaith networks to achieve structural transformation and societal change for a just world. It develops pastoral strategies for addressing:

The Russian-Ukraine conflict intensifies with each passing day. Negotiations move at a slow pace while weapons and military assistance from other nations pour into Ukraine. Some commentators talk about “just war.” Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons. This seminar will explore the questions, attitudes, and conditions for building a better world raised in Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti. The question of the validity of the traditional “Just War Theory” in a nuclear era must be challenged.

Global Ministries University has invited Father Robert Dueweke, OSA, former representative of the Augustinian religious community at the United Nations, to lead this GMU graduate-level seminar on the Just War Theory and its recent critique by Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti.

We are also inviting representatives from our planning group in Kenya affiliated with Tangaza University IRDIS to take part in this seminar.

This course will explore and awaken students’ natural creativity through participation in seven eco-art activities, performed within nature and seen through the eyes of Creation Spirituality and its four paths. Such exploration and awakening can surface the authentic self, thereby enabling inner healing. They can also engender a deep sense of sacredness and an appreciation for the oneness of all things, leading to the discovery of a deep and lasting set of values – including a passionate desire to care for the earth, and to address the sacred connection one should have with her, with all her creatures, and especially with the Creator.

The world is in crisis as the catastrophic situation in Ukraine unfolds. We in the GMU community, as elsewhere in the world, are struggling to understand and respond. Research—gathering information from reliable sources—can help us as we deal with crises.

I found several articles available to us in our EBSCO Religion & Philosophy database focusing and giving background on spiritual and religious aspects of the crisis. To access these, log on as a student/faculty on the GMU Classroom, click on GMU Library, then type in the author or title.

Rap, Myroslava. “The Conflict between Traditional Christian Churches in Ukraine as a Conflict of Identities: Where to Search for the Prospects of Reconciliation? A Reflection in the Light of the Theories of Paul Ricoeur and John Paul Lederach.” Political Theology, vol. 16, no. 3, May 2015, pp. 201–25.

Shestopalets, Denys. “The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, The State and The Russian-Ukrainian Crisis, 2014–2018.” Politics, Religion & Ideology, vol. 20, no. 1, Mar. 2019, pp. 42–63.

Suslov, Mikhail. “The Orthodox Church in Ukraine: A Century of Separation.” By Nicholas E. Denysenko. Journal of Church & State, vol. 62, no. 4, Oct. 2020, pp. 750–53.

Gatov, Vasily. “Contagious Tales of Russian Origin and Putin’s Evolution.” Society, vol. 53, no. 6, Dec. 2016, pp. 619–24.

Additionally, we can look for books using WorldCat, the open access database anyone can use. The titles below, of general interest and not necessarily theological, are all available full-text. Go to worldcat.org and type in the titles

Kanet, Roger E, and Dina Moulioukova. Russia and the World in the Putin Era: From Theory to Reality in Russian Global Strategy. New York, Routledge, 2022.

Plokhy, Serhii. Ukraine and Russia: Representations of the Past. Toronto, University of Toronto Press 2021.

In both these databases, feel free to type in your own keywords to look for even more. May peace prevail!

Please contact me if you need help anywhere along the way.

Awaken the healer within you. Discover your connectedness with the earth. Learn how to be "part of the solution" to the global crisis we are facing.

This unique scholarship awards $2,200 to women and non-binary persons on their academic and spiritual paths, who are discerning ordination.

Endowed by Sheila Durkin Dierks and her family, WOC is honored to celebrate the pioneering legacy of Lucile Murray Durkin.

Applications are open! Please submit a complete application by April 29th, 2022.

A printed version of materials from the August 2021 Conference, edited by Fr. Innocent Maganya and Reginald Nalugala is being published by the Daughters of St. Paul (Pauline Press) in Nairobi.

An e-book, hardcover and paperback version, edited by Maryknoll Fr. Joe Healey, Thomas James, President Gerald Grudzen and Sterling Harwood is now available on Amazon.

Visit the International Conference on Building Bridges for Human Solidarity in the Light of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Fratelli Tutti website to see the latest articles, including an upcoming documentary and plans for the 2023 conference to be held on February 2-4 in coordination with the UN Interfaith Harmony Week. The title and focus of the conference will be: Walking Together in the Spirit of Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti.

Divine Presence

We pray for the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia

We pray for all those who are afraid; that your comfort surrounds them in this time of great fear.

We pray for all those who have the power over life and death; that they will uphold life and strive for life in its fullest.

We pray for those who promote war; that they will remember that you direct us to turn our swords into ploughshares and seek peaceful resolutions to our problems.

We pray for leaders on the world stage; that they are led by compassion, mercy and justice.

Above all, we pray for peace for Ukraine.

Amen

https://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/ | info@globalministriesuniversity.org