On February 14, 2022, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, expressed the Holy See’s closeness to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and solidarity with the people “in this difficult moment of the escalation of the conflict around Ukraine.” He did so in a phone call to His Beatitude Sviatoslav Schevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halič.
The Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church published the call in a note: “His Beatitude Sviatoslav informed Cardinal Parolin of the service the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is offering, in the present conditions of the threat of a large-scale Russian invasion and thanked the Holy See for its constant attention to the situation,” reads the text.
For his part, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church was grateful for Pope Francis’s new appeal, during the Angelus on February 13, “to pray for peace in Ukraine and avert the threat of war.” “The Ukrainian people feel the Holy Father’s special solicitude for peace in Ukraine and appreciate the diplomatic efforts of the Holy See to resolve the present international crisis,” he said
“In this agitated moment, I wish to express to you, Your Beatitude, to the Episcopate, to the priests and to the faithful of the Church you lead, and to all the Ukrainian people, the Holy See’s support, and to express its solidarity and assurance of prayers for all,” concluded Cardinal Parolin.
Humanitarian Crisis
A week ago, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk held a meeting online with a few journalists, organized by the Iscom Association.
Monsignor Shevchuk recalled how “for eight years Ukraine has lived under Russia’s military attack.” The Army first annexed Crimea and then entered Donbass, an important industrial region in eastern Ukraine.” “We have lost close to 14% of the territory and 25% of its industrial potential: coal and metal mines and chemical industry.”
A tragedy that caused thousands of deaths. “The official figures state that 14,000 people have died, the reality is always double, perhaps triple. We have two million internally displaced people, despite our ability to address this humanitarian crisis.”
A Different Conflict
However, the situation is different now. According to authoritative political scientists and diplomats, “the escalation is different from that of eight years ago. It’s no longer a bilateral conflict. Before, Russia even denied its part in the conflict, saying it was a civil war. But Russian arms are everywhere. Taking part in the Minsk Agreement were Ukraine, the Western powers, and Russia, which spoke in the name of the separatist groups. Now we are facing a confrontation between Russia and the West. Moreover, Ukraine is absent from political meetings. Russia’s ultimatum did not mention Ukraine but <only> how to deal with NATO, that is, with the United States.”
The result is that Ukraine “is in the middle of two blocs that are confronting one another, and we don’t know what will happen. It is the geographic, historical, economic, and social epicenter of this confrontation. We are in imminent and grave danger. It’s a very fragile situation and everyone is aware that it can worsen at any moment.”
With Andrea Acali
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
