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International Christian relief group, Samaritan’s Purse, is deploying a field hospital to Ukraine as Russia’s attack on the country continues. The group loaded the field hospital equipment onto a DC-8 plane in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“This is a man made disaster,” said VP of Operations Edward Graham. “We respond also to natural disasters around the world. But this is a man-made one. Man can’t fix this, and only God can fix this. It’s my hope and prayer that the people that may be watching or maybe listening to this, that they pray for the country of Ukraine, and we pray for peace and a peace that only God can bring about.
The group says its airlifting doctors, nurses and support staff to Poland. The hospital and staff will be taken to Ukraine from there. According to Samaritan’s Purse, it says the hospital will be able to treat up to 100 patients a day, with up to 30 in-patient beds, an operating room and an intensive care unit.
In addition, the group plans to send a cargo plane next week carrying equipment to set up two medical clinics. They will be able to provide minor trauma and general medical care for about 200 patients a day.
Dr. Elliott Tenpenny is one of the directors. He says they’re responding to the needs of the people in the war zone “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“We’re compelled by our faith,” said Dr. Elliot, “and we’re called to respond to needs around the world with this type of capacity.”
The war in Ukraine intensifies and the number of casualties on both sides are climbing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Vatican more than almost any other world leader – we’ll look back at the time he spent with Pope Francis.
During Lent, Catholics abstain from meat choosing seafood instead — but it comes at a price.
The White House says airplane passengers might get to enjoy mask-less travel without having to worry much about COVID-19. According to White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, there is a plan in place:
“First, protect against and treat COVID,” Jeff said. “Second, prepare for any new variants. Third, prevent economic and school shutdowns. Fourth, vaccinate the world and save lives.”
Here’s how. Some pharmacies are preparing “Test to Treat” initiatives. They’ll offer free COVID-19 tests. If you’re positive, you’ll go home with an FDA-Authorized antiviral medicine for free.
If new variants emerge, Dr. Anthony Fauci says they also have a plan.
“We are ready to deploy personnel and resources to quickly update the vaccines,” said Chief Medical Adviser to the President Dr. Fauci.
The White House wants people to be able to safely go to work and send their children to school without shutdowns. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to push for more COVID vaccination worldwide. On top of that, officials are considering letting passengers fly without a mask. That mandate expires March 18.
“Transportation’s another arena where I think a lot of us are looking forward to being able to put so many of these pandemic restrictions behind us,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The public transportation mask mandate might end if those numbers drop, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“We see those numbers begin to drop to levels that show that safety can be had everywhere,” said Xavier. “We see that Americans continue to vaccinate. Now we all have to get there working together.”
David Nunez works at a seafood restaurant in New Orleans.
“Usually we have a line outside the door,” David said. “We stay busy. We pretty much run out [of] crawfish every day.”
Now that the Lenten season is here, he says, they’re getting ready for the rush of people.
“You can’t even park out here sometimes, you got so many feet,” David said. “The flow is coming. We’re gonna be busy in March, March madness, wide open on the weekend.”
Right now, he says the price of crawfish he sells is reasonable at $3.35/lb for live crawfish and $4.35/lb for boiled. But other seafood? Expect higher costs.
“Nobody comes looking for work, we’re short handed,” David said. “[The] price of fuel [is] through the roof, the fishermen paying more for fuel, more for bait, more for gasoline.”
David says due to demand and the cost, they can’t get crab or oysters.
Drago’s Seafood Restaurant owner Tommy Cvitanovich says the rise in prices is causing him to rethink how he runs his business.
“Across the board, oysters are very, very expensive,” Tommy said.
He’s had to temporarily remove certain oyster dishes from his menu.
“I can tell you this week alone, the cost of my charbroiled oyster, the finished oyster to go to the table, has gone up about 25 cents,” Tommy said, “because of the increase in price this week per oyster.”
From Louisiana to New York and everywhere else for that matter, customers will be paying more. That’s because fishermen are fighting inflation and paying more for fuel, labor and sacks. As for crab meat, it doubled in price – going from about $18 to years ago, to about $40 today.
“So now the restaurateur has a couple decisions to make, put less crab meat, [and] obviously raise prices,” Tommy said. “Do I go to an imported crab meat? Do I go to a frozen crab meat?”
More than a million people so far are trying to escape the violence in Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
“Ukrainians are friendly – we don’t want to have war,” said one Ukrainian woman who fled the country. “We don’t want to have quarrels with somebody. We want just peace..”
This comes as Russia continues its assault on key Ukrainian cities. Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov says Russia forces have combated non-stop.
“So we have continuous shelling for 26 hours,” said Sergei. “Twenty-six hours they are destroying our city. We do not have electricity, water supply, sanitary system and no heat.”
One senior U.S. Defense official says Russian forces have shown a willingness to hit civilian infrastructure on purpose. Delegations from the two countries are meeting again amid the violence. On their agenda: An immediate ceasefire, armistice and creating a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians. The European Union is now offering them temporary protected status.
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk is a Ukranian activist.
“Thousands are being killed including children and women and it’s a nightmare,” said Sviatoslav.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Pope Francis has avoided naming president Vladimir Putin – but has been sending messages directly to him.
“I repeat: Put down your weapons! God is with the peacemakers, not with those who use violence,” the Holy Father said.
Vladimir Putin’s history of making trips to the Vatican dates back more than two decades. The first time he met with Pope Francis, just eight months into his papacy in November of 2013, it was because they had a common interest – asking the United States not to take military action in the conflict in Syria.
But since then, the tone of the meetings with Pope Francis have been different. In 2015, they met after Russia annexed Crimea. Pope Francis urged Putin to respect the ceasefire agreement and allow humanitarian workers into the region. Their last meeting, in 2019, was seen by many to be a clashing of world views, as the two discussed Russia’s increased presence in Venezuela, Syria and Ukraine.
During that interaction, Pope Francis gave Putin a signed copy of the message of peace he gives to world leaders.
“This is the message of peace this year that I signed today for you,” he said.
And last Friday, Pope Francis made an unprecedented trip to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to express his concern about the war and attempt to make contact with Vladimir Putin’s political circles.
During his most recent general audiences, Pope Francis has made it clear that his heart remains with the Ukrainian people.
“Ordinary civilians are the real victims, who pay for the follies of war with their own skin,” he said.
Pope Francis asked that all those who are watching the conflict unfold should pray for those suffering.
“If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy, which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.”
In the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, hundreds of kilometers from the worst of the Russian attacks, they’re getting ready. One neighborhood includes a high rise apartment building, just on the outskirts of the city.
They’ve filled bags with sand donated by the army. They’ve posted Ukrainian flags to show their pride and allegiance. The locals don’t know if the Russian attack will come to their city, Lviv, but they’re not wasting any time to be ready.
One 23-year-old lives in the apartment building with his two brothers, a sister and his parents. He’s helping build the barricade to keep his community safe.
Dennis LaSalle makes sure to come to church every Ash Wednesday to receive his ashes, but this year, he entered St. James Cathedral Basilica with a heavy heart.
“There’s so much hatred in the world,” he said, referring not just to the war in Ukraine but to the deep cultural and political divisions tearing people apart, locally and globally.
As a result, LaSalle has made up his mind about how he will spend Lent.
“I’m going to give up having hatred and anger in my heart. I wish we would all do it, but if I want it to happen, it has to start with me,” he said as he sat in a pew waiting for the noon Mass to start. His decision was inspired by the pandemic.
“COVID taught me that life is short and we have to care for one another,” he explained.
Ash Wednesday 2022 marked the first time since the pandemic uprooted everyone’s lives that Catholics were able to take part in the holy day in a normal fashion.
It also marked Bishop Robert Brennan’s first Ash Wednesday since becoming Bishop of Brooklyn in November.
Bishop Brennan distributed ashes at the cathedral by rubbing them on the heads of each member of the congregation — a sharp contrast to last year, when the clergy sprinkled ashes on heads to avoid touching anyone.
Back in 2020, Ash Wednesday fell on Feb. 26, just as the pandemic was first taking hold nationally, but before the lockdown intended to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus began in New York City.
Now, even as confirmed cases of COVID-19 are declining locally and the worst appears to be over, the pandemic was still very much on the minds of people who gathered at the cathedral.
L. Brown, who declined to give her first name, lost a good friend to COVID last year and her visit to the cathedral was partly in memory of her buddy.
“I came because COVID made me think about life and how finite it is. I believe in a higher power helping all of us, so I’m here to acknowledge that,” she said.
Anne King was attending Mass for the first time in a month.
“Between the cold and the snow and COVID still around, I didn’t want to take a chance on going out. I’m 85 years old. It feels so good to be back. This is my church,” she said.
Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, is a good time to reflect, Bishop Brennan said. “One of the chief things about Lent is opening ourselves up to the grace of God. Opening ourselves to God who wants to give to us his very self,” he added.
Father Bryan Patterson, pastor of St. James Cathedral Basilica, said Ash Wednesday reminds people they have the chance to reach beyond their limitations for something greater.
“We have the opportunity to discover that God is here and that he loves us — even with our limitations,” he said.
This year, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis asked the faithful to think of Ukrainians on Ash Wednesday.
“What Pope Francis has asked us to do is to take prayer and fasting today and make it an intentional act of prayer and fasting — praying for peace in our world right now, particularly peace in Ukraine,” Bishop Brennan said.