“When Someone Tempts Us with Ideas of National Egoism, We Know Who Is Paying It” — Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Russia fuels national egoism in various European countries—particularly in Poland—and takes advantage of the resurgence of dormant hostilities between peoples and nations that should have remained in the past. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, spoke about this in an interview with Polish journalist Krzysztof Tomasik for the Catholic Information Agency (KAI).
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“Russia wants to reopen the old wounds in Europe that John Paul II sought to heal: between Germans and French, between Poles and Germans, between Ukrainians and Poles… Today, it seeks to divide us all once again,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav. “We know that Russia is currently funding ultra-nationalist parties throughout Europe. Therefore, when someone tempts us with ideas of national egoism, ideas of radical nationalism, we know who is paying it.”
According to the Head of the UGCC, these processes must be countered through Christian solidarity, which the Holy Father John Paul II consistently advocated.
“We must be wiser than all those who are attempting to fuel national egoism and radical sentiments today. I believe the remedy for this is Christian solidarity, which John Paul II advocated in Ukraine. This is the finest balm against national egoism,” he emphasized.
“I would like to remind you that John Paul II apologized to the Ukrainian people on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for all the wrongs of the past. My predecessor, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, in the presence of the Pope, asked forgiveness from everyone—including the Polish people—for all the injustices they suffered at the hands of Ukrainians. The Pope’s visit to Ukraine in 2001 was also an act of mutual forgiveness, healing of memory, and a manifestation of Christian solidarity. Today, that solidarity must serve as a vaccine against Moscow’s propaganda, which fuels nationalism in the modern world,” noted His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The UGCC Department for Information
