Tuesday morning's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., focused on the continued assaults on human dignity.
Around a thousand people heard Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Borys Gudziak speak about the human cost of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Highlighting Human Dignity Attacks
Politicians and Catholic leaders from all over the country have been coming together every year since 2004 for the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
This year's prayer breakfast, Gudziak brought up a Ukrainian father whose son had been slain fighting the Russian invasion on behalf of the Ukrainian military forces.
According to CNA, while Ukraine faces Russian aggression, Gudziak thanked the American Church for its assistance and begged for ongoing prayer. At the event, speakers talked about how the United States has a problem with abuses of human dignity.
Aside from war, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast also tackled abortion.
Carter Snead, a Catholic bioethicist and the director of Notre Dame's Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, recently addressed the community about the ongoing dangers of abortion to both mothers and their unborn children.
Snead said that in the post-Roe v. Wade era, the Catholic Church must respond to attacks on human dignity by advocating for abortion access with compassion.
He also stated that Catholics have a unique opportunity and responsibility to foster a culture of life and a civilization based on love.
The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in 2020 was held online due to the outbreak of COVID. The program boasts a strong roster of speakers, many prominent personalities in the Catholic Church or other fields, and guests from a wide range of professional and personal experiences.
According to its website, the event does not take a political stance and is open to anyone. In addition to the main event each year, organizers provide several other activities to get people excited about the convention.
About Archbishop Borys Gudziak
Borys Gudziak, Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), was enthroned on June 4, 2019, in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia by 50 bishops from Catholic churches.
According to Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Bishop Boris became UGCC Archeparchy of Philadelphia's seventh Metropolitan Archbishop.
Gudziak, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1960.
After graduating from Syracuse University with a BA in philosophy and biology in 1980, he continued his education in Rome among Patriarch Josyf Slipyj's inner group.
He also attended the Pontifical Oriental Institute in 1995 and received a licentiate in Eastern Christian studies.
Ordained As a Priest
Per the post, Gudziak was ordained on Nov. 26, 1998. In 2012, he served as the Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
In 2016, Gudziak initiated a strategic pastoral planning initiative to build an eparchial vision for its future activity and expansion. He expanded the number of priests and parishes, constructed a new financial model for sustainability, and widely engaged the laity.
Gudziak supported the 2013–2014 Maidan movement for human dignity and provided expert analysis on top worldwide TV channels and media.
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