"In the eastern regions under occupation, there is not a single active Catholic priest, either of Roman or Greek Rite," - Metropolitan Borys Gudziak
"Churches (associated with the Moscow Patriarchate) suffered the most from Russian aggression – at least 143 were destroyed or damaged. For example, the Holy Dormition Lavra, a monastic stronghold of Russian Orthodox influence in eastern Ukraine, has suffered serious shelling and damage. A large number of civilians killed by occupiers in eastern Ukraine are baptized members of the Moscow Patriarchate's jurisdiction," said the Metropolitan.
According to the papal nuncio in Kyiv, there are no Catholic priests of either Roman or Greek rite remaining active in the occupied eastern regions.
"Some conservative Christians internationally consider Putin a defender of Christian values and Orthodox faith. Can you defend values by killing their carriers?" asks Metropolitan Hudziak.
Speaking on behalf of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with the longest history of persecution by the imperial, Soviet, and now neo-imperial Russian authorities, he said that "according to the papal nuncio in Kyiv, there are no Catholic priests of either Roman or Greek rite remaining active in the occupied eastern regions."
"All of them had to leave, were arrested, or are hiding," said Boris Hudziak, Archbishop of Philadelphia and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Eparchies in the United States.
Two UGCC priests from Berdiansk, Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta, both members of the Order of Redemptorists, were imprisoned in November 2022, and their whereabouts remain. In addition, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is an independent US government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Accords. During the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West, the Helsinki Commission monitored the Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords, particularly regarding human rights, and helped many Soviet dissidents, including religious leaders.
The leaders of the Helsinki Commission, Wilson and Cohen, were among the lawmakers in the House of Representatives who introduced the Resolution on Victory in Ukraine at the end of April, a bipartisan resolution that states that Ukraine's victory should be considered the complete return of Ukrainian territory under the control of Kyiv within the internationally recognized borders of 1991.
According to Wilson, Ukraine's victory is "the only path to peace," and Cohen added that Ukraine's victory is "also critical to the United States," because "the Ukrainian struggle is our common struggle."
Congressmen called for arming Ukraine, "so that the future counteroffensive could live up to expectations, and so that Ukraine could win the war as quickly as possible."
