At a meeting in the United States, the bishops of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church issued a statement regarding the recent statements of Pope Francis in an interview with the Swiss TV channel Radio Televison Suisse. This was reported by the press service of the UGCC, according to UNN.
Today, we do not want to dwell on the Pope's words, but want to emphasize once again the position of the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are talking about the position of the majority of Ukrainians. It is clear to everyone who lives in Ukraine that Ukraine is now, as we have repeatedly stated in Washington, Philadelphia and New York, speaking to the authorities, the Ukrainian community in the United States and the general public, wounded but unbreakable, tired but resilient,
Details
The Synod emphasized that Ukrainians cannot stop defending themselves because surrender means their death, and Putin and Russia's intentions are clear and precise. He is not the only one: 70 percent of the Russian population supports the genocidal war, including Patriarch Kirill and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In Putin's mind, Ukraine, Ukrainian history, language, and independent Ukrainian religious life do not exist. Everything Ukrainian, in his view, is an ideological construct that must be destroyed. In his mind, Ukraine is not a reality, but simply an "ideology," which he also describes as "Nazi. By calling Ukrainians who refuse to be Russians and recognize the Russian government Nazis, Putin dehumanizes them. According to this interpretation, Nazis (in this case, Ukrainians) have no right to exist. They must be destroyed, killed. The war crimes in Bucha, Irpen, Borodyanka, Izium and other towns occupied by Russian troops have demonstrated to Ukrainians and all people of good will the clear goal of this war: to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians. It is also worth adding that any Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory leads to the destruction of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, any independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as well as the suppression of other religions and all institutions and manifestations of culture that do not support Russian domination,
In addition, the bishops added that Ukrainians will continue to defend themselves because they have no other choice - history has shown that there can be no real negotiations with Putin.
Recall
Pope Francis calls on Ukraine to raise the white flag and negotiate with Russia to end the war, suggesting talks mediated by other countries such as Turkey despite potentially legitimizing Russian aggression.
Vatican comments on Pope's statement on white flag3/10/24, 11:20 AM