Head of UGCC discusses religious persecution in Ukraine's TOT with Trump administration official
Kyiv • UNN
His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with Paula White-Cain in the White House Office of Faith. They discussed the situation with religious persecution in the occupied territories of Ukraine and the release of imprisoned priests.
On February 20, 2025, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with the head of the Office of Faith, Paula White-Cain, at the White House. During the meeting, he spoke in detail about the persecution of Christians in the occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular, the restriction of the activities of religious organizations, the destruction of churches and the abduction of priests. This was reported by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, according to UNN.
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On February 20, 2025, at the White House, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, met with Paula White-Cain, head of the Office of Faith, which was established two weeks ago by President Donald Trump to support religious communities and protect religious freedom in the United States.
Obviously, we talked about the issue of religious freedom in Ukraine, including the occupied territories. I made a brief excursion into the history of religious freedom in Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union and explained that for Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims, the existence of the Ukrainian state guarantees religious freedom. Instead, a return to the soviet union, which Putin seeks to restore, means a return to the catacombs and the destruction of our church,
In particular, the members of the delegation shared with Paula White-Cain and her deputy Jennifer Korn information about restrictions on the activities of religious organizations in the occupied territories, the destruction of churches and priests and pastors in captivity.
Thanks to the mediation of the Apostolic Capital, we managed to free our fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, but Protestant pastors have no one at the highest level to speak for them. So I became their lawyer before the head of the office, asking for their release,