OCU Claims Pope Is Playing into Moscow's Hands
An OCU cleric rebuked the Greek Catholics for their silence amid the Pope's statements about the need for peace.
OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk accused Pope Leo of acting in Russia's interests and called on Ukrainian Greek Catholics to stop criticizing the structure of Epiphaniy Dumenko. Hryshchuk published a post on his Facebook page following a dispute surrounding the OCU leader's visit to Lviv.
The public conflict was sparked by a statement from UGCC representative Yuriy Boyko, who suggested that the OCU should leave western Ukraine and focus its ministry on the eastern and southern regions of the country.
OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk reacted sharply to the proposal to divide spheres of territorial influence. "Guys, how about you stop telling us where we can and cannot go, and we won't tell you where to go!" He accused the Vatican of loyalty to the Kremlin and rebuked the UGCC for selective silence.
"The Pope is playing into Moscow's hands, placing Russia and Ukraine on the same level and calling on Ukrainians to reconcile with the occupier," Hryshchuk stated. "And the UGCC stays silent and draws no conclusions — for them, the main enemy is the OCU and Epiphaniy."
Hryshchuk questioned whether Catholics had truly privatized the western regions of the country. He compared the UGCC's position to the Polish occupation of the Lviv, Frankivsk, and Volyn regions during the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when Polish authorities carried out the forced Catholicization of Ukrainians. The OCU cleric called on the Uniates to stop lecturing the OCU for the sake of preserving a semblance of unity in the face of external challenges.
As the SPJ reported, the UGCC criticized Epiphaniy's awarding of Uniate officials.
