The Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine has released a statement on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, which will be commemorated this year on November 25.
The official website of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine reported this information and provided the document's text:
"On November 25, 2023, Ukraine will mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, a significant historical tragedy for our nation. Famine is a slow and cruel death. For long months and years on the generous Ukrainian land, millions of innocent people perished in this horrific way. To create famine on the fertile Ukrainian soil, the richest land on our planet, one must do so deliberately! The Ukrainian people, always inclined towards freedom, once again, 90 years ago, became an obstacle to the oppressors' authority—this time not of the Tsarist but of Bolshevik Russia.
Global society and the history of civilization already give an assessment of this crime, labeling it as genocide. Pope Francis also, while receiving a Ukrainian delegation at the conclusion of the Year of Faith when we commemorated the 80th anniversary of these severe losses for our people, acknowledged that 'the Holodomor in Ukraine was provoked by the Soviet regime.'
Recognizing the horrors of the 'harvest of death' that claimed the lives of millions, we, as the Church and people, have become stronger and better understand the dimensions of the evil we can face. The current war for the independence of our Motherland is a continuation of that ancient struggle. The Russian authorities employ the same forms of intimidation and destruction against Ukraine.
We do not celebrate the anniversary of the Holodomor; instead, we mark it primarily as a memory of those who were humiliated and tortured. We do not know the exact number of victims, but God knows each one by name. Therefore, we appeal for His mercy for all those who became victims of the criminal hatred towards Ukraine.
We thank God for all those who, in those terrible times, did not lose their human dignity and, despite their own hardships, managed to share a piece of bread with their neighbors. Let this humanity be the seed that grows within each of us in our days of trial!
May this National Day of Remembrance serve all of us in uniting against all forms of visible and invisible evil. Let us pray for those who today suffer from hunger—our defenders on the front line, internally displaced persons affected by the war, and those enduring years within it.
Let us also pray for those who can help those in distress: that their hearts may be tender and their hands generous.
And let us pray for the remembrance of our enemies, fulfilling the testament of Christ the Savior—praying for those who hate us. May the Kingdom of Heaven draw near in this prayer, so that God Himself may be among His people, leading them out of slavery with a mighty hand, delivering them from the house of bondage (Deuteronomy 7:8)."