The Head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav, considers Pope Francis' statement on the inadmissibility of killing innocents to be one of the most powerful statements of the pontificate in support of Ukraine.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.
“This Sunday, October 13, Pope Francis made one of the most powerful statements of his pontificate in support of Ukraine. After the Sunday prayer “Angelus,” he said clearly and distinctly: “Stop killing the innocent.” He called on the whole world to help Ukraine so that the enemies of Ukraine could not achieve their goal of freezing Ukrainians this winter through the systematic destruction of the infrastructure of our cities and villages,” said the head of the UGCC.
According to him, the pontiff's statement surprised many. “And the attention of the whole world was drawn to Russia's crimes against Ukraine. Everyone understood whom the Pope was referring to,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He noted that earlier, on October 10, he had an audience with the Pope.
“During this audience, I tried to share how our Church lives and serves the Ukrainian people in the conditions of war. I also spoke about the humanitarian challenges Ukrainian society is facing in connection with the situation related to the consequences of the war and the growing trauma caused by Russia. In particular, I spoke about the coming winter and the challenges of providing energy to our cities and villages,” said the Head of the UGCC.
He emphasized that he had asked the Holy Father to make a statement, and the Pope had responded to this request.
“I am very pleased that His Holiness has responded to my request, that he is so deeply moved by Ukraine's pain and suffering Ukraine, so deeply empathizes with the pain of our people. We ask the Lord and the entire world that supports Ukraine to end this war as soon as possible, and in particular, for the world to clearly and unequivocally condemn the criminal, to condemn the Russian aggressor. The Pope's words, “stop killing innocents in Ukraine,” have already become a symbol, a slogan that is being repeated by millions of people around the world,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized.
As reported previously, on October 10, during a meeting with the Head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav, Pope Francis assured that he would continue to support Ukraine and would not allow the world to forget about it.