UKRAINIAN PRIESTS URGE CHURCHES OF WORLD NOT TO BE SILENT DURING THREAT OF RUSSIAN ATTACK
Priests of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine have asked for support from western church leaders against the background of the risk of a Russian invasion.
"During a time when the newspapers are showing Russian tanks and armed divisions arrayed on our borders and also war is going on in the east of Ukraine, the church in the West has not made any statements," the priest Gregory Semenkov, the chancellor of the Kharkov-Zaporozhe diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, says. This is reported by the All-Ukrainian Council, citing C.N.S.
"As faithful Catholics we do not have anything against Russians and we regularly conduct Russian-language masses, and our bishops' conference, being nonpolitical, has never declared a position regarding whether Ukraine should join NATO or the European Union. But these preparations by Russia for invasion represent a serious danger for us."
The priest told C.N.S. that since the negotiations between NATO and Russian officials have not succeeded, the majority of Catholics think that after that it is likely that "large, demonstrative use of force on the part of Russia" awaits us.
He also reported the threat of religious persecution, inasmuch as Ukrainian Catholics are not sure how Russian forces will treat their churches.
Father Roman Krat, the vicar of the Odessa-Simferopol diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, also reported the high probability of invasion, taking into account the completion of the construction of the 750-mile gas pipeline of Russia, "Nord Stream-2," to Europe and also the favorable weather conditions for attack and the unlikelihood of an armed response by NATO.
He reported that support for Russian President Vladimir Putin among Russian-speaking Ukrainian Catholics has fallen off because of events in occupied Crimea and the Donbass. He also said that it is expected that in the event of an occupation, Catholic clergy will be forced to take Russian citizenship in order to continue to minister.
"Putin knows that some western countries, that are already fully dependent on Russian gas, would choose warm houses and not concern for Ukraine. He also is faced with internal economic and social problems and he needs to give attention to society in order to show that Russia is strong and invincible under his leadership. Despite the fact that many negotiations have been conducted, all these factors point in one direction—to the threat of war," the priest says. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 January 2022)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
https://www2.stetson.edu/religious-news/