Roman Catholic Bishop Sobilo: ‘Let them deprive us all of our legal statuses’

“The Ministry of Culture’s threats against the UGCC supported the Maidan in a very concrete way,” said Bishop Jan Sobilo of the Diocese of Kharkiv and Zaporizhia of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, CREDO reports.

The bishop believes that now more pastors and priests of different faiths will participate in the Maidan.

The Roman Catholic bishop said that the government will not succeed in intimidating Christians: “Let them deprive us all of our legal statuses, for all Christians agree with His Beatitude Sviatoslav’s statement.”

Bishop Sobilo is convinced that the government’s actions will only strengthen the unity of Ukraine and all Christians. The bishop cites the example of a trend noticed in Zaporizhia: often attempts to divide Ukraine along linguistic, religious, or ethnic lines fail and on the contrary strengthen unity.

“It was the same when Russian was recognized as a regional language. Following the adoption of this bill, many people in the east began to speak in Ukrainian out of principle. Everything is going very well. Someone will tell off the authorities. Well done! Keep it up!” says the bishop.

The government warned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church that it may deprive it of its legal status because of its presence at the protests on the Maidan. The first deputy minister of culture issued a letter of warning to Patriarch Shevchuk.

Though most Christian denominations Ukraine, as well as Muslims and Jews, have provided spiritual care on the Maidan, the UGCC was the only church to receive a warning from the authorities.

The Ministry of Culture’s letter has caused outrage in the society.