Ukrainian bishops plead for international intervention in response to Russian aggression
September 11, 2014
The bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, gathered in a synod in Lviv, have asked the international community to restore peace in Ukraine in response to military actions taken by “a northern neighbor”-- a clear reference to Russia.
“This peaceful sovereign nation suffered a direct military intervention by a northern neighbor,” said the Eastern Catholic church’s bishops, according to the Religious Information Service for Ukraine.
“Hundreds of heavy weapons and technology, thousands of armed mercenaries, and soldiers of the standing army are crossing the borders of Ukraine, sowing death and destruction, and this despite armistice talks and recent diplomatic efforts,” the bishops added in their September 10 statement. “At the same time, an unprecedented level of hatred and propaganda, distorting the real state of affairs, is taking place, and it is no less destructive than weapons of mass destruction.”
The bishops continued:
Thousands of people have been kidnapped and subjected to torture and humiliation, their human dignity having been publicly violated. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been forced to flee their homes in fear of their lives and the danger of death. If these crimes are not immediately stopped, with the onset of the winter cold, the death toll will increase tenfold. Whoever kills people in Ukraine will not hesitate to turn their weapons to attack any country in the world tomorrow.
In the face of such serious crimes we cry out to the consciences of believers of all denominations and faiths, appealing to all people of good will, to heads of state, and members of the international community: "Stop the bloodshed in Ukraine!" Today silence, inaction, or reluctance to recognize the seriousness of the situation in our country will not simply make people dumb or indifferent witnesses and accomplices of sin and murder, which cries to heaven for justice as the Scripture says: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). How can we forget the words of Saint John Paul II in 1979, in the vicinity of the former concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, who said: "War is caused not only by those who wage it directly but also by those who do not do everything in their power to avoid it."
We especially call upon those whom the Lord has given authority to fulfill their responsibilities and take the necessary decisions at the political level in order to restore peace and security in Europe. We call again upon all believers and people of good will for urgent prayers to end the war and restore lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine.
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Posted by: John J Plick -
Sep. 14, 2014 11:00 AM ET USA
Why doesn't the Holy Father speak out on this nonsense, this sacrilegious abuse of religion, which he and his Saintly predecessors have condemned in no uncertain terms. Putin advances under the "religious fig leaf" of Krill. A Catholic priest has already been expelled. Remaining discretely silent truly has its day, but when that day wanes...?
