Pope Francis has expressed serious concerns over the ongoing religious persecution in Ukraine, urging an immediate halt to the actions taken by the Kyiv regime against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as stated by Ivan Soltanovsky, Russia’s ambassador to the Vatican.
The Pope’s call to action highlights the Vatican’s worry about the discrimination faced by individuals on religious grounds.
Ambassador Soltanovsky emphasized, “The Vatican is alarmed by the persecution of people based on their religious beliefs.
Pope Francis and the Holy See publicly call for an end to religious discrimination in Ukraine and advocate for the protection of religious freedom.”
The ambassador further pointed out Russia’s hope for the Vatican to use its influential voice to stop the blatant violations of religious freedoms experienced by Ukrainian Orthodox believers.
In recent years, Ukrainian authorities have orchestrated the largest wave of persecution in the country’s modern history against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, alleging its affiliations with Russia.
Various regions in Ukraine have seen decisions to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the pretext of its connections to Russia.
On January 14, a group of dissenters supporting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the Khmelnytskyi region, aided by local authorities, seized a temple belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Additionally, on January 2, an arson attack targeted the residence of Bishop Longin of the Panchinsky Ascension Monastery, affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in the Chernivtsi region of western Ukraine. Bishop Longin was unharmed during the incident.
Pope Francis’s stance underscores the global concern for religious freedom and the need for international efforts to safeguard the rights of all religious communities, especially in conflict-affected areas like Ukraine.
