War in Ukraine is a civilizational conflict, head of the UGCC to Vatican diplomats
On June 13, a conference on religious freedom in Ukraine was held at the American Embassy at the Apostolic Capital. The main speaker was Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) of the UGCC. The meeting was held at the initiative of Callista Gingrich, US Ambassador to the Vatican, according to the Department of Information of the UGCC.
Ambassador Callista Gingrich turned to the conference participants. She assured of the “absolute” support of the United States to Ukraine in combating Russian aggression: “The power of history and choice of people Ukraine is part of Europe and the West. We continue to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its efforts in building a stable, democratic, developed and free country.”
Speaking to diplomats and representatives of the Vatican Curia on the religious situation in Ukraine, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that “seventy years of Soviet rule left many wounds in the religious life of our people. At a time when the only legal Churches were the Russian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholicism was to some extent tolerated by the authorities, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was deprived of any right to existence. We were the largest church community persecuted in the last century.” However, in the opinion of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “these very conditions of existence helped the UGCC to keep its authenticity.”
"The collapse of the Soviet Union caused a wave of religious revival in Ukraine, very often it was a painful process of building inter-confessional relations, but today we are consoled with the religious world as one of the greatest achievements of building a free and democratic Ukraine,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Speaking to the diplomats about the role of the Churches in modern state-building processes, the Head of the UGCC emphasized the principle of “separation, but not isolation of the Church from the State.” Referring to statistics of Ukrainian citizens' confidence in the Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed to the special role of the Churches in building a civil society in Ukraine. “During the Revolution of Dignity on the Maidan, there were Ukrainians, Russians, Poles ... The war in Ukraine is not a conflict between Ukrainians and Russians. This is a conflict between two directions of development: back to the Soviet Union, which is was of loss of our religious freedom and national identity, or by moving forward to a developed and genuine democracy of the European model – the true freedom of all religions and a guarantee of the free development of all, without exception, peoples living in Ukraine And we, as the Church, advocate the project of building our state on the principles of protection and respect for human dignity, common good and solidarity.”
“During the four years of Russian aggression, the Ukrainian Churches realized that the preservation of religious peace in our country is a guarantee of national security. That is why religious freedom is a great value for us,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav. At the conclusion of his report, he thanked the representatives of the international community for their support and assistance to Ukraine. “We believe that the war will end. An important mission of our Church is to prepare people's hearts for forgiveness and reconciliation,” stressed the Head of the UGCC.
The conference ended with a speech by Tetyana Izhevska, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Vatican. In his address, the Ukrainian Ambassador emphasized that the example of Ukraine is unique in terms of respect for inter-religious and interethnic tolerance, and the Ukrainian State is making every effort secure the citizens’ right to freedom of conscience and religion. She also thanked foreign partners for the clear and constant support of Ukraine.
After meeting with the diplomatic corps, His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Ambassador Tetyana Izhevska answered the questions of the journalists of The Tablet, Crux, and Acistampa / EWTN.
In addition to the ambassadors of the European Union member states, the ambassador of Canada, Australia, as well as representatives of some Vatican dicasteries were participating in the conference: Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, secretary of the Pontifical Council of integral human development participated in the conference; Archbishop Cyril Vasil, secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
