Ukraine is defending the truth. It’s fighting for the truth, fighting for the fact that human life has its dignity, is priceless, and it is unacceptable to just destroy it or make it a tool, hostage to the policies pursued by political criminals.
This conviction was expressed by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in his daily address on the 35th day of the bloody war that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine.
He noted that the enemy is ruthlessly destroying Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians, taking no care of both the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people. “We are only now beginning to see the consequences of this war. War always brings destruction. Whole cities and villages have turned into ghost towns. Where once there were sites of a flourishing spiritual and intellectual public life, today there’s only fire raging and the wind blowing,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The head of the UGCC added that war always brings hunger and impoverishment to the people. We must be ready to tackle all these consequences.
To date, the UN reports that four million refugees have fled Ukraine. About six million people have fled their towns and villages, half of them children. Ukraine has lost half of its economy.
“This means that the next month will probably be one of the most difficult ones. But Ukraine stands on. Ukraine is struggling. Ukraine is winning and surprising the whole world,” said Patriarch Sviatoslav.
The head of the UGCC claims that Ukraine keeps standing because it defends the truth, and this war reminds us more and more of the rule of spiritual struggle that every Christian wages with the devil, evil, and its servants.
“I’d like to recall one rule of this spiritual struggle – evil always hides in the dark. If the devil, evil deeds are brought to light, if they are debunked, the devil immediately loses power. The light of God’s truth weakens and disarms it. Therefore, when we hide or conceal our sins, flaws, they become stronger, they dominate us. But when we bring them to light, go to confession, talk about them to ourselves and open our hearts to the spiritual father, it is as if we bring the devil to the light and take away his power,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Reflecting on the rules of spiritual struggle, on the need to debunk and expose evil, the Head of the UGCC especially thanked the media, all journalists who at the cost of their own lives tell the truth about the pain and suffering of Ukraine.
