Today, on October 10, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
This was reported by the Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome.
The Head of the UGCC told the Pope about the challenges of pastoral ministry in times of war, paying special attention to humanitarian problems and the need for further comprehensive support of Ukraine by the Holy See.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav presented to Pope Francis the decisions of the last Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, whose main task is evangelization in the context of war.
“Today we face an important task - to resist the militarization of religion, which we see in the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as to open the word of God to people in the face of trials, to be preachers of hope even in the desperate conditions of war,” said the Head of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Pope for his constant assistance and mediation in the process of liberation of prisoners, in particular, the Redemptorist priests Ivan Geleta and Bohdan Levytsky. He told the Holy Father about their horrific experience of captivity in Russian torture chambers and their service to the Church after the liberation.
He paid special attention to humanitarian issues, particularly on the eve of winter.
“Russia systematically destroys the civilian infrastructure of our cities and villages and hits residential areas. It is now obvious to everyone that denazification means the destruction of the Ukrainian people, Ukraine without Ukrainians,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He thanked the Pope for his repeated condemnations of missile attacks on civilian targets and asked him to continue to draw the attention of the international community to Russia's crimes against the Ukrainian people.
His Holiness assured the Head of the UGCC that he would continue to support Ukraine and engage all diplomatic mechanisms of the Holy See to end the war in Ukraine. The Pope pointed out the need to mobilize all efforts to help Ukraine on the eve of winter, saying that he “will not let the world forget about Ukraine.”
Pope Francis expressed gratitude to the Head of the UGCC for serving the Ukrainian people “in such difficult historical times of trials - for being with your people as a true shepherd.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav is currently in Rome to participate in the Pontifical Synod on synodality. The program of his working visit to the Vatican and Italy includes meetings with the heads of various dicasteries of the Roman Curia and representatives of the Italian government.