Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the bishops of the UGCC in Poland: His Eminence Eugene Popovich, Archbishop of Przemysl-Warsaw, His Eminence Volodymyr Juszczak, Bishop of Wroclaw and Gdansk – on the eve of the anniversary of the Volyn tragedy issued a statement to the faithful and all people of good will asking for prayers for the victims of the Polish-Ukrainian confrontation.
“For almost 30 years people of good will in both of our nations have been trying to reach the hearts of all Poles and Ukrainians to open them to forgiveness and reconciliation. Today's moment in the political history of Poland and Europe is particularly unfavorable for those who do not idealize the past. Longtime enemy of the Polish and Ukrainian nations, who can rule over us only dividing us, seeks to reopen wounds of the past, to provoke a new round of tension and hatred between us and destroy our common European future.”
"Therefore, in this year of the Holy Divine Mercy we aspire, in the words of St. John Paul II, that the
merciful forgiveness received and granted became the required healing balm, which can improve our historical memory and to heal the wounds of the past,” the church fathers appeal.
Church hierarchs remind that Ukrainian leaders have proposed to establish a common day of remembrance for the victims of our past to confirm belief that evil will not reoccur and are asking to perform a memorial service for all those who died over the centuries as a result of the Polish-Ukrainian confrontation, on Sunday, July 10, during the commemoration of the victims of the Volyn tragedy of 1943.
“Let the truth of the God's image, which can destroy the gravest sin, give strength to every Christian to win hatred inside himself. Let hope for God's mercy encourage all to follow the Lover of Man,” Head of the UGCC wished. This has been reported by the UGCC Information Department.