As part of his visit to Germany, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk met with the head of the German Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg.
The meeting was attended by a representative of the charitable organization Renovabis, Mr. Albert, Auxiliary Bishop Helmut Wizman, and Fr. Ivan Machuzhak.
According to Fr. Machuzhak, Patriarch Sviatoslav's visit provoked a great interest in the German Church circles.
"The German clergy inquired about the situation of the church in Ukraine, its problems and achievements. Patriarch Sviatoslav thanked Archbishop of Freiburg for the 'big help to the victims of the frosts' (the Freiburg Archdiocese allocated a considerable amount of money for those who suffered from the weather in Ukraine)," said the priest.
At the meeting, Patriarch Sviatoslav stressed the importance of the role of the church "in the present difficult social situation of the Ukrainian state" and noted that "the church is the only guarantor of truth and trust in the society, which is independent of ideologies and party trends." The German bishops, in their turn, assured the head of the UGCC of "support along this difficult but very important path."
In the end of the meeting, Patriarch Sviatoslav asked the head of the Bishops' Conference to pass his gratitude for the support of the UGCC to all the bishops.
"It is not only a material help, which is important, but also political, social and, especially, spiritual support. In the process of the construction of the building of Europe, Ukrainians also must make a contribution, despite the political problems in the country. Ukraine expects a lot of support from its spiritual family, the Catholic Church,” said the head of the UGCC.