In a letter of gratitude to the German Bishops’ Conference and its Chairman Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the patriarch wrote: "Thank you for the news we received from Hildesheim, where the meeting of the German Bishops' Conferencetook place. In the press-report we have read the statementsby German Bishops on the situation in Ukraine revealing their deep understanding of our situation.”
The UGCC Hierarch stresses that these days Ukraine especiallyneeds a kind word of support and seeks adequate assessment of the war in the country: “This is what we found in a press statement. The Ukrainian people are happy that atruthful evaluation of what we havesounds from the Church through the common voice of German bishops.”
Hierarchs of the UGCC believe that the war in Ukraine is important for all of Europe and the world. Therefore, the battle for human values cannot be a matter of only one nation, as modern Ukrainian history “is sanctifying European values with blood.”
“We are grateful to Your Eminence and all archbishops and bishops of Germany for the kind words, we thank German charities and donors for financial aid, we thank politicians and diplomats for political support, and we thank all the people in your country who are praying for us and sympathizewith us. Everything you are doing for us, everything we sacrifice in this war is an investment in our common future worthy of human dignity,” says Patriarch Sviatoslav.
On February 26, 2015, the spring meeting of the German Bishops' Conference - Congress of Catholic bishops in Germanyin the German city of Hildesheim, which is competent to determine the development strategy and the official position of the Catholic Church in Germany. One of the important issues discussed by the German hierarchy was the situation in Ukraine.
The German bishops declared that the annexation of Crimea is contrary to international law, and Russia’s activity harms relationships, threatens peaceful order in Europe. In addition, it was reported that Caritas and Renovabis international charitable foundations increased assistance to the needy in Ukraine. This was reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.