UGCC Chief offers excuses for the “Revolution of Dignity”

The events of the last winter of 2014 appeared as a demonstration of Christian and European values. Not a single Ukrainian Church supported aggression and war standing for the peaceful protest. It was reported by head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Sviatoslav Shevchuk in his interview to Parisian Radio “Svoboda”.

“The Revolution of Dignity was nothing else but a demonstration of Christian, civil values we call European,” he declared.

He added none of the Churches was in favor of aggression, hatred or supported a war during the Maidan.

“Maidan was not a “nationalist coup”, since it spoke in various languages, prayed in different languages, there were clergymen of various Churches, various nationalities,” affirms the UGCC chief.

Earlier in 2011 Sviatosalv Shevchuk took against the revolution and organization of the Maidan. In his interview to Ukrayinskaya Pravda when asked by the journalist “if Maidan began tomorrow, what side would you take?” Shevchuk answered that “personally he is against any revolutions due to the fact a revolution demonstrates an inevitable clash in the society. The issue of forced shift in power is of extreme nature,” he claimed.

In January 2014 former UGCC chief Lubomir Guzar announced the nation had a right to armed insurgency against the unfair power.

It’s a known fact during the developments of 2014 year Greek-Catholic priest Petr Burak was a chaplain of the “Right Sector”. In his interview with “Facts” edition he said the following: “Since as early as 2002 I’ve been a main chaplain of All-Ukrainian organization “Trident” after Stephen Bandera. Given that namely “Trident” members were a hardcore of the “Right Sector”, I automatically became a leading chaplain of this party. Our guys defended the students, fought back “Berkut” law enforcers, won the police in hand-to-hand fight, when there was a first attempt to pull down the monument to Lenin. I was always by the activists’ side, assisted them in everything, and shared their grief and joy. How happy we felt when the fellows had managed to get united and gain victory over “Berkut” members!”

Asked about his opinion on that the Church has to be against violence, he replied, “A fight is not a sin if it serves justice. And the war is not a sin for those who defend truth. This is why I was on Maidan, has served in a volunteer corps for a year and make regular trips to the ATO zone.”

Earlier the UOJ reported that the Uniate chief is willing to get the Greek-Catholic and Orthodox united.