The address of the Greek Catholic bishops of July 24, 1933, "Ukraine in Death Agony" drew a response in western European countries regarding the subject of Holodomor. The active position of the clergy urged an authoritative Austrian cardinal, Theodor Innitzer, to become interested in the situation in USSR and to seek for ways to help the victims.
Historian Yaroslav Papuha voiced this opinion during a scholarly seminar "Between the Two Banks of the Zbruch: Holodomor of 1932-1933 and the 'Rescue Action' of the Western Ukrainian Society," held at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv on November 25, 2010, reported the Information Department of UCU to RISU.
"The first letter of Metropolitan Sheptytsky written on the matter of the Holodomor in December 1932 did not find due support," noted Yaroslav Papuha. As of that moment, the international community and Ukrainians living outside the USSR did not realize the scope of the tragedy; neither was the problem duly covered in the press."
"In their second address, the bishops of the UGCC called 'all Christians, believers and, especially, workers and peasants to join the voice of protest and pain and extend it to the most distant countries of the world.' The address was published in newspapers of many countries. It was one of the main factors promoting consideration of the question of the Holodomor in the international arena," noted the historian.