On October 28, the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with the Minister of the Interior of France, Bruno Retailleau, in Paris.
This was reported by the Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome.
On behalf of the Ukrainian people, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Minister for supporting Ukraine. The parties discussed humanitarian issues and the main challenges of integrating Ukrainian refugees in France.
“I came from Ukraine to thank the French authorities for their support of our country. Every sign of support gives us great strength,” said the Head of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav told the minister about the presence of the UGCC in France and the new pastoral challenges associated with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees.
“Our Church is doing everything possible to ensure that Ukrainians contribute to the common good and are socially responsible,” he said.
The Head of the UGCC expressed his readiness to cooperate with the French government to better integrate Ukrainians into French society. With the new wave of refugees, the number of UGCC faithful in France is about 120 thousand.
“Refugees from Ukraine mostly constitute women with young children. Many of those women have higher education. This is the best part of Ukrainian society," His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized. “At the same time, they are a vulnerable category of society, so we ask the French authorities to make every effort to legalize them and create conditions for their integration."
The Head of the UGCC emphasized the need for pastoral support for Ukrainian refugees in France. In this context, the main needs of the pastoral ministry of the UGCC were discussed.
Bruno Retailleau, commenting on the ideological basis of the war in Ukraine, said: “Unfortunately, the Nuremberg trials did not take place over the red dragon of communism, as they did over fascism after World War II. I am convinced that this is why Ukraine became its victim. In the postwar period, France made a lot of efforts to fight fascist totalitarianism, but the spirit of communism continued to exist and spread in the world.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav presented Minister Retailleau with the Message of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in Ukraine on war and just peace in the context of new ideologies.
“In this message, our Church officially explains the causes of the war in Ukraine, the essence and danger of the ideology of the Russian world. Today we see how this doctrine, proposed to the state by the Russian Orthodox Church, brings death to Ukraine, and Russia exports war to different parts of the world,” said the Head of the UGCC.
At the end of the meeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav assured the French Minister of the Interior of Ukraine's victory and asked France to continue to support its “victory plan.”
“We believe in your victory and will do everything possible to restore Ukraine's sovereignty,” Minister Retailleau said.
As reported by the Information Department of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav arrived in Paris on October 28 for an official visit. The visit will last until November 5 and comes at the invitation of the French Bishops' Conference (Conférence des Evêques de France, CEF) to strengthen support for Ukraine.
The program of the visit includes a speech by His Beatitude Sviatoslav at an academic conference organized by the Bernardine College, the Paris Catholic Institute and the Paris Faculty of Loyola University.
A number of meetings are planned within the framework of the French Bishops' Conference, which will culminate in His Beatitude Sviatoslav's speech on November 5 at the opening of the autumn Plenary Assembly in Lourdes. Afterwards, he will lead the Divine Liturgy for about 120 French bishops.
The Ukrainian part of the visit will include a meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Vadym Omelchenko, and heads of Ukrainian associations. On November 1, His Beatitude Sviatoslav will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral and talk to the faithful. He will also preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Eparchial House in Vincennes and meet with priests of the Eparchy from all five countries.
On Sunday, November 3, after the solemn ceremony of honoring the victims of the Holodomor at the Arc de Triomphe, His Beatitude Sviatoslav will lead the Divine Liturgy in the procathedral church of Saint-Sulpice, where they will pray for the victims of the Holodomor and war, as well as for a just peace.