Culture Minister Assures Head of UGCC His Department Will Not Put Pressure on the Church
The Ministry of Culture does not intend to put any pressure on the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in response to the presence of its priests on the Maidan or to take legal action to stop the activities of religious organizations of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Minister of Culture Leonid Novokhatko said this January 17 during a meeting with the head of the UGCC Patriarch Sviatoslav. According to the Information Department of the UGCC, the meeting was held at the request of the minister.
The minister praised the peacekeeping role of the clergy of various denominations, including the UGCC, to prevent provocations and violence during peaceful protests taking place in recent months, particularly in Kyiv.
On his part, the patriarch said he hoped the public authorities, particularly those whose task is to serve the people, will ensure the people’s right to religious freedom in Ukraine, and will not extend the current sociopolitical crisis into the religious sphere.
The parties both praised the recent statements by certain government officials on the inadmissibility of banning people from praying where they are physically located.
The meeting was also attended by Mykhailo Moshkola, Chair of the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Religious Affairs, and Archpriest Oleksa Petriv, head of External Relations of the UGCC in Ukraine.
