“The decision of the European Commission to initiate negotiations on Ukraine’s EU membership is a significant aid in confronting Russian aggression” — Head of the UGCC in Brussels
On November 8, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head and Father of the UGCC, met with MEPs and Group for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue members at the European Parliament. On the day when the European Commission recommended the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s joining the EU, the parties discussed the European aspirations of the Ukrainian people and the role of churches and religious organizations in building a democratic society in Ukraine.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Jan Olbrycht
On behalf of the Group for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, Jan Olbrycht, Member of the European Parliament, greeted the UGCC delegation. He highlighted the significance of the meeting, which “takes place at a special historical moment — the decision of the European Commission to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.” He expressed gratitude to the Head of the UGCC for the role of the Church in the war in Ukraine.
In his address to the participants, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that “Ukraine and its people are an integral part of European civilization. We are a young state, yet an ancient European nation with its European identity.” He spoke about the visit of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations to European institutions in Brussels in 2013, when “the religious environment of Ukraine, representing 95 % of civil society, unanimously declared to the top officials of the European Union the irrevocable European choice of Ukrainian society.” Therefore, the central goal of the visit of the head of the UGCC to Brussels is “to reaffirm this aspiration in the context of the neocolonial war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. Ukraine is waiting for an invitation to join the EU.”
Describing the religious situation in Ukraine, His Beatitude Sviatoslav said: “The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations stands guard over the preservation of the principles of religious freedom, but at the same time supports the steps of the Ukrainian state towards liberation and protection of the religious environment from its instrumentalization by Russia as an aggressor country.”
Special attention was paid to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. “As a result of Russian crimes in Ukraine, 14 million Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes, including 6 million women and children. Most of them had to stay in the EU countries. As a Church, we are doing everything to ensure that their rights and dignity are properly protected and express our deep gratitude to the European nations for their solidarity and hospitality to Ukrainian migrants,” said the Head of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav focused the attention of the MEPs on the challenges of the upcoming winter: “The Russian aggressor is deliberately trying to instigate a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine, systematically destroying its vital infrastructure, its cities and villages, killing civilians and trying to provoke an energy crisis. About 7 million Ukrainians will again face a food crisis this winter.” Therefore, he called on the representatives of the European Parliament “to do their utmost to ensure that the war in Ukraine, provoking a humanitarian crisis, does not cause a humanitarian catastrophe — the largest in Europe since the Second World War.”
MEP Rasa Juknevičienė said it was important to focus the international community’s attention on the war in Ukraine and noted Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership. Michaela Scheidrová, MEP from the Czech Republic, brought up the issue of school education in the context of war and forced migration. “Preserving the national identity of Ukrainian children in the context of culturalization poses a challenge where the Church has a unique role to play,” Ms. Scheidrová emphasized.
Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome
