On October 28, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with representatives of the French Bishops' Conference. The Head of the UGCC was greeted by the President of the French Bishops' Conference, Éric de Moulins-Beaufort.
This was reported by the Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome.
In his speech, Bishop Beaufort recalled the visit of the delegation of the French bishops to Kyiv and the de-occupied territories:
“We remember the traces of shells and bullets on many buildings and cars, the horrific stories of abuse suffered by men who defended their country, and the sight of many graves, so many dead young people.”
The President of the French Bishops' Conference emphasized that “Ukraine's independence from the Soviet project and from Russia concerns all of humanity. Today, we want to stoutly declare that the struggle of your country is a struggle for the freedom of us, Europeans.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the President of the French Bishops' Conference for the invitation, calling his visit to France a “visit of gratitude.” The Head of the UGCC recalled the visit of Bishop Beaufort to Ukraine at the beginning of the war, when he “could personally witness the fresh wounds of the Ukrainian people and was one of the first church hierarchs who dared to touch these wounds.”
In his address to the staff of the office of the French Bishops' Conference, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked them for their solidarity with Ukraine and for “the Catholic Church in France being the voice of truth about the war in Ukraine and helping to accept our refugees and integrate them properly into your society.”
On the occasion of the visit of the Head of the UGCC to Paris, an exhibition on the history of the UGCC was presented in the atrium of the office of the Bishops' Conference.
“Everyone who comes here will learn about the faithfulness of your Church, which you have maintained for centuries. It strengthens the hope that your people will get their rightful place among other European nations, that your people can be an example of state-building based on justice, truth, peace and mercy,” said the President of the French Bishops' Conference.
At the end of the first day of his official visit to France, the Head of the UGCC also met with Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.