While on a pastoral visit to Portugal, Bishop Stepan Sus, head of the Pastoral Migration Department of the UGCC, spoke with journalists from the Catholic publication "The Pillar." Among other topics discussed was the issue of Russia's conversion and the possibility of reconciliation with it after the war.
This was reported by the press service of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
Responding to a question about the possibility of reconciliation with Russia, Ukrainian Bishop Stepan Sus noted that Ukrainians hope that Russia will understand its own mistakes in starting this unnecessary war.
"For years, Russians told us that we are their brothers and friends, but today, we understand that even if someone calls you a brother, it doesn't mean they won't do bad things to you," Bishop Stepan said.
"We are waiting for a different Russia. A Russia that will be part of Europe, and a Russia that will understand that it can do a lot of good in this world, starting with respect for human dignity, respect for its own people - because we understand that many people on the Russian side have died in this war - and that Russia will reconsider its attitude towards other countries," the bishop emphasized.
He also noted the intense desire of Russians to rewrite the history of the whole world through their propaganda. According to him, if they don't accept a certain country, they say that its existence is a mistake of history. They said something similar about Ukraine a few weeks ago and about Belgium, Poland, and the Baltic countries before that.
"They try to revise history, and the danger for us is that sometimes they use Christian values to justify their own mistakes. Like at the beginning of the war, they said they wanted to save the world, and that's why they had to start the war, saving the world from its sins. This 'missionary' or 'messianic' spirit is dangerous because we see in the history of all tyrants that they started their path by declaring the necessity of converting the world, saving the world, killing peaceful populations," noted the head of the Pastoral Migration Department of the UGCC.
The bishop also couldn't ignore the request of the Holy Virgin in Fatima to pray for the conversion of Russia.
"We often ponder the meaning of the message of the Virgin Mary from Fatima: why does Russia need to convert? I think we are fighting evil, and we understand that this evil has a human face because there was one person who started this war, who started spreading this poison, and we must stop this person. Not only Ukrainians but also other European countries and the whole world must stop this evil and help Russia change. Everything must change deeply to convert," the bishop expressed his opinion.
"When we talk about someone who has converted, we mean that this person has completely changed their views, the whole context of their life, and maybe then we will truly understand this message of the Virgin Mary in Fatima. This message was not just a statement, it was a task entrusted to people, not to be afraid to fight evil. This is what we do every day on the front lines," Bishop Stepan Sus concluded.
The full version of Bishop Stepan Sus's interview with "The Pillar" can be found here.