The Head of UGCC names the challenges the Church and society will face after the victory
"If after the end of the war, we do not develop democratic institutions, if independent courts do not act as a separate branch of government, if we do not have real parliamentarism that really represents the interests of the people with all the diversity of their political preferences, if the executive power is not really a power, and not a tool in the hands of some leader who only pulls the strings, then I think we will quickly lose the support of our partners who are so actively helping us today. That is, today, there is a struggle for democracy, and we must win it at any cost... We must take ownership of our state ourselves. It is we who should take care of the possibility of free and fair elections. It is we who should be able to change the government if necessary. Therefore, the functioning of the democratic institutions of a truly free state will be the common task that we must fulfill as a people after the war... The functioning of the democratic institutions of a truly free state will be the common task we must fulfill as a people after the war," the Head of the UGCC believes.
Patriarch Sviatoslav named another challenge - those in power will always have a hidden desire to keep that power. And this can also be a challenge: "Today we are grateful to both the president and our authorities that they really very skillfully took up the task of defending Ukraine, thank God. But when we win this war, after the end of martial law, we must really develop our Ukraine as a country of a developed democracy."
According to the head of the UGCC, healing war wounds is another challenge: "We are a heavily wounded people and do not fully realize the depth of these wounds. Therefore, treating war wounds is the main point of our pastoral church-wide plan, which we have adopted for the period up to 2030. It so happens that during the war, when we all hear ourselves in danger, the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn almost into an idol. We say: "I believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine." Super! We must further support the Armed Forces. But when the war ends, unfortunately, history shows that these heroes, these war invalids, are very quickly forgotten. At best, they will remember once a year on Victory Day and present flowers. And how will they live every day? How will they manage their own wounds, not just physical ones? Here's the question. Healing war wounds will be a huge task for the whole society, the state and the Church."
The fourth point to which the head of the UGCC draws attention is the protection of the uniqueness and dignity of the Ukrainian family, which should become part of state policy and be at the center of public attention because if this does not happen, then the whole society will be very sick:
"When this basic cell of society is not healthy, will not be able to be protected, if new healthy full-fledged families are not created, then we will not be able to get out of the wound that this war has introduced us into so easily. Just as today we say: "I believe in the armed forces of Ukraine" in order to win the war, so after it ends we must say: "I believe in the Ukrainian family," Patriarch Sviatoslav summed up.
