On Wednesday, June 1, at the residence of the Head of the UGCC in Kyiv, the Father and Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the administration of the Ukrainian World Congress. This meeting, initiated by the UWC, was attended by UWC members for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The main questioned during the meeting were the support of Ukrainian refugees in the world, their spiritual and cultural ties with Ukraine and assistance in integration into Ukrainian communities around the world.
Paul Grod, President of the Ukrainian World Congress thanked His Beatitude Sviatoslav for the active role of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in mobilizing the Ukrainian community in the world in support of Ukraine and the victims of the war. He noted the great openness and activity of the clergy and monastics of the UGCC both in the service of refugees who are already staying and continue to come from Ukraine to different countries, and in collecting donations and humanitarian aid sent to Ukraine.
The sides also discussed the possibility of cooperation between the UWC, Caritas Ukraine and the UGCC in Ukraine to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the UWC noted that the UGCC is Ukraine's true voice in the world and an important source of truthful information, particularly in the information war against Ukraine.
Another important question discussed during the meeting was the establishment of close cooperation between the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine and the world and the World Congress of Ukrainians. The Head of the UGCC expressed hope that such cooperation, on the one hand, would help and unite Ukrainians worldwide around the support of Ukraine, the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and on the other hand, allow them to appeal together to the world community to raise awareness of Ukraine, which is already beginning to get tired of the war in Ukraine. “The longer the war lasts, the less likely the world will talk about it. Unfortunately, the war is no longer newsworthy. The sensitivity of the world community to the tragedy in Ukraine will need to be awakened and maintained in the future. That is why cooperation between the Church and the Ukrainian World Congress in this direction will be only developing”, stated the Head of the UGCC.
The parties also analyzed the challenges Ukrainian society is facing today. They talked about the victims of Russia's war against Ukraine, the immediate consequences of this war in the humanitarian and economic spheres, the sphere of international relations, as well as what awaits Ukraine and Ukrainian society in the near future, given that the war, unfortunately, is not coming to an end.