UCCRO Delegation in Brussels Discusses the Role of Churches During the War and Ukraine’s European Integration with Representatives of EU Institutions
On June 24, a delegation from the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) held meetings in Brussels, Belgium, with Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). The discussions focused on the role of Ukrainian churches during the war, religious persecution in the temporarily occupied territories, countering Russian propaganda, and Ukraine’s European integration.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations emphasized that the Russian Federation’s aerial terror against the civilian population is intended to break the Ukrainian people’s will to resist. They also stressed that Russia is exploiting religion as a tool of hybrid warfare and that representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Russian religious organizations support the military aggression against Ukraine and are complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The delegation also drew the attention of Members of the European Parliament to the genocidal nature of Russia’s policy toward Ukraine, particularly in the context of the ideology of the so-called “Russian World” and the rhetoric of a “holy war.” The discussions also addressed issues related to Ukraine’s European integration.
The delegation then met with COMECE Secretary General Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, as well as representatives and experts of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. The participants discussed the state of religious freedom in Ukraine, religious persecution in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, and prayed together for an end to the war and for a just peace in Ukraine.
During a meeting with Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, the parties discussed the activities of religious communities during wartime, their role in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, and the prospects for the country’s accession to the European Union.
The delegation also met at the European External Action Service with representatives of the Office of the EU High Representative, the Ukraine Unit, and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood. During the meeting, the parties discussed the work of churches and religious organizations and their role as institutions of civil society in Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
The UCCRO delegation’s visit to Brussels is taking place with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Representative Office in Ukraine.
