Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, expressed “gratitude to Pope Francis, Vatican diplomacy, and all international institutions” involved in helping secure the release of over 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Newsdesk (10/01/2024 10:46, Gaudium Press) The Primate noted that the war is a tremendous tragedy, a bleeding wound on the body of our people, which exhausts us, seizing from us all that we call the aspirations and vitality of every nation.
“At the outset of this year,” said Sviatoslav, “the enemy intensified its air attacks on Ukraine. On the first day of the new year, January 1, Kyiv fell into mourning. We commemorated 32 people who were killed by Russians in our capital the day before. And on January 2, the enemy again launched an unprecedented massive air attack, including against Kyiv.”
As we mourn our fallen, the Primate noted with regret, while we heal our wounds, we urge the whole world to hear the voice of an unbreakable country: Ukraine stands! Ukraine fights! Ukraine prays!
Sviatoslav noted that this week, Ukraine celebrated one of the most significant Christian holidays — the Epiphany: “We believe that through the Lord’s power, evil will perish in the waters of the Jordan, and God’s blessing, which we seek to bring to all homes of Ukrainians, even to military dugouts and trenches, to bomb shelters, will serve as the force for the revival of the Ukrainian people.”
The Head of the UGCC also recalled that in these days, we rejoiced that Ukraine managed to rescue more than 200 prisoners of war from the hands of the modern Pharaoh and return them home: “We express our gratitude to Pope Francis, Vatican diplomacy, and all international institutions that helped in this endeavor.”
There are thousands of Ukrainians, the Primate noted, who are being punished in the clutches of the Russian pharaoh. Let us not forget about them. Let’s do everything to return them to their Motherland.
Raju Hasmukh with files from UGCC
