General Secretaries of Episcopal Conferences of Europe discussed the situation in Ukraine
In Strasbourg (France) the assembly of General Secretaries of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe continues. Ukraine is represented at the meeting by Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh), Secretary of the Synod of UGCC Bishops Archbishop Vitaly Skomorovsky, General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine Bishop Nil (Lushchak), Bishop of Mukachevo diocese of the UGCC.
According to the Information Department of the UGCC first day began with a discussion of the socio-political situation in Ukraine and the role of churches in the events of recent months. In his presentation Bishop Bohdan drew attention to the social and political context in which the events called "revolution of dignity” developed.
Further he informed the audience of how churches and religious organizations in Ukraine reacted to these events, performing their pastoral mission in the dramatic circumstances of people's struggle against the dictatorship for assertion of freedom, social justice and the rule of law in the country.
The bishop noted that the Ukrainian people pay a high price for the assertion of values in the society that are fundamental to Europe today and are rooted in the biblical vision of man and of human society: respect for the dignity of every human being, freedom, honesty, solidarity and mutual responsibility for the fate of one’s neighbor and the whole nation. Bishop Bohdan called great achievement the civic maturity and consolidation of the Ukrainian society in the face of external aggression and the example of unity given by the Churches and religious organizations in Ukraine.
At the end of his presentation, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops emphasized the importance of solidarity from the international community as equally invaluable treasure of prayer support felt by Ukrainian nation and our Church in these dramatic circumstances. On behalf of Patriarch Sviatoslav, head of the UGCC and all the faithful of the Church and the Ukrainian citizens, he expressed his gratitude to the representatives of the Catholic Church from European countries for their expression of human and Christian solidarity.
