Eduard Kava Explained

Honorific Prefix:Most Reverend
Edward Kawa, O.F.M. Conv.
Birth Name:Edward Kawa
Birth Date:17 April 1978
Birth Place:Mostyska, Lviv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
Coat Of Arms:Coat of arms of Eduard Kava.svg
Church:Roman Catholic Church
Titular Bishop of Cilibia,
Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv
Appointed:13 May 2017
Ordination:1 June 2003
Ordained By:Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
Consecration:21 June 2017
Consecrated By:Mieczysław Mokrzycki
Other Post:Delegate of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual for Ukraine (2008–2017)

Bishop Edward Kawa, O.F.M. Conv. (Ukrainian: Едвард Кава; born 17 April 1978) is a Ukrainian Roman Catholic prelate as the Titular Bishop of Cilibia and Auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of Lviv since 13 May 2017.

Life

Bishop Kawa was born in the Polish family of Stanisław and Kazimiera (née Dorosz) Kawa in the Western Ukraine. After graduation of the school education, joined the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1995; he made a profession on September 28, 1997 and a solemn profession on December 15, 2001, and was ordained as priest on June 1, 2003, after graduation of the Major Franciscan Theological Seminary in Kraków, Poland and Major Theological Seminary of Mary – the Queen of Apostles in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.

He returned to Ukraine in 2003 and began to work in the Franciscan parishes and as superior of the different local Franciscan communities. During 2016–2017 he served as a Guardian of the convent of the parish of St. Antony in Lviv.[1]

On May 13, 2017, he was appointed by the Pope Francis as the second Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lviv, Ukraine and Titular Bishop of Cilibia. On June 21, 2017, he was consecrated as bishop by Metropolitan Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki and other prelates of the Roman Catholic Church.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Bishop Kawa spoke out on multiple occasions about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, in February 2022, he was critical of his brother bishops in Germany, Belarus and Germany, for not speaking openly about the situation, saying: "Why are you silent while we are being killed? Where is your voice of solidarity with the innocent victims of Putin's Russia? Where are your actions that show love; deeds without which our Christian faith is dead; where is your active position? Some of the leaders of your countries support aggression, others are its source, and you are silent? Is this your version of Christianity? Do you still remember that keeping silent about sin is also a sin?"[2]

In August 2022 he said: "We are losing sons and daughters of our people, we are losing territories, but Ukraine is still an independent state! And today, more than ever before, we value and honor this independence of ours. And we know that every drop of blood and sweat, every life, all our prayers, tears of wives and mothers, all the pain and fear that have accompanied us for 6 months - everything is not in vain. Today we prove to ourselves that we are worthy and worthy of this gift of God, which is independence, and we are ready to fight for this gift."[3]

In September he referred to a Russian drone strike on a Caritas Spes warehouse in Lviv as "an attack on the poorest and most needy".[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Єпископ Едуард Кава. Ukrainian . Official Website of the Archdiocese of Lviv. 28 September 2017.
  2. Web site: Єпископ Кава: «Чому ви мовчите, поки нас вбивають?» . 2023-10-24 . en.
  3. Web site: Єпископ Кава: «Сьогодні, як ніколи раніше, цінуємо і шануємо нашу незалежність» . 2023-10-24 . РИМСЬКО-КАТОЛИЦЬКА ЦЕРКВА В УКРАЇНІ . uk.
  4. Web site: ACN . 2023-09-25 . Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv: drone attacks on Caritas warehouse strike the most needy . 2023-10-24 . ACN International . en-US.