The Head of the UGCC: We are Catholics for Christ's Church, founded by St Peter, not Francis's Papacy

This was stated by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in his video address, reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.

According to him, as a result of a cunning manipulation, a dishonest journalist's sleight of hand – juxtaposing a symbol and word, symbolic gestures and signs against their verbal explanations – even the Apostolic See fell victim.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that, in addition to rockets, drones, and bombs, the Russian aggressor employs another destructive type of weapon against Ukrainian society — "information-psychological special operation": "Through sophisticated information and psychological manipulations, the enemy seeks to strike at the Ukrainian heart, to kill our nation's ability to fight for its future. It is worth noting that behind such attempts always stands the father of lies — the devil. The first 'effect' of using this weapon is the emergence of a storm of emotions in the victim: fear, hatred, and distrust of oneself and those around. In this way, the enemy seeks to paralyze the will and cloud the minds of Ukrainians so that we do not know where the truth is and where the lie is, who our opponent is and who the real enemy is."

However, the Head of the UGCC calls for being wiser and braver than our enemy, who wants to paralyze our ability to fight at any cost.

"Regardless of who today governs the See of Peter — whether it is Francis with his human limitations, like each of us, vulnerable to such manipulations, or someone else — Peter's rock stands unshaken! We are Catholics, faithful to the Eastern Catholic Church, not because Pope Francis is Pope, but because Christ founded His Church on the rock of Peter. And only such a Church the gates of hell will never prevail against," emphasized the Head of the UGCC and added: "So let us be wiser than the schemes and tricks of the enemy of humanity and Ukraine. For only by relying on Peter's rock amidst the stormy sea of life, only by having the helping hand of our brothers around the world and the support of the Universal Church, which today stands firmly behind Ukraine, are we capable of winning. And we believe that the Lord God will grant us this victory."