Roundtable 'Church and Elections' Held in Lviv

On October 15 the Institute of Religion and Society of the Ukrainian Catholic University  held a roundtable “Church and Elections” with the participation of representatives of public organizations and clergymen. According to the organizers, during the election campaign, one can increasingly hear political agitation in churches and some candidates spread photos showing them organizing pilgrimages with priests.

“It should not be so. The church should keep its distance from campaigning,” said the chaplain of the Lviv City Council, Fr. Pavlo Drozdiak.

The priest called on believers to refuse to attend pilgrimages organized by candidates. “By participating in such pilgrimages, you participate in the election campaign of political candidates,” stressed the minister.

The participants of the roundtable noted that before the election campaign of 2012, Greek Catholic bishops published a special address in this regard. According to Myroslav Marynovych, however, the document did not assume due significance in the society.

“In a civil society, the will of the people is the law for the authorities, whereas in the authoritarian one, the will of the authorities is the law,” he noted.

According to Marynovych, using our right of choice, we can remove from power those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities and to invite a new elite. According to him, the worst evil is retaining power by dishonest means and loss of faith by the voters. Another problem is the selling of votes under the pretext of poverty.