ROME. This week, Australian bishops sent a letter of solidarity to Ukrainian Catholics denouncing the Russian invasion as “genocide”.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge, head of the Australian Episcopal Conference, insisted in a letter that “the Church cannot remain neutral” in the face of such an open conflict between good and evil.
“This is not just a local war in a distant land,” the letter said. This has serious consequences for Europe and the world, even for Australia.”
“It is not just a struggle for democracy against authoritarianism; It is a battle for freedom against slavery, for truth against falsehood, for life against death, for good against evil.”
In the letter, the Catholic Church in Australia proclaims “unconditional union with you and your people.”
The letter stated that Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine constitutes “genocide”.
But there is Ukraine, it has resisted all attempts to destroy it,” he said. “The same unwavering spirit is evident today as the Ukrainians resisted the aggressor, and it is very inspiring for all of us.”
Mourners at the funeral of Denis Antipov, a soldier and famous economics professor at the Kyiv School of Economics, on May 18, 2022, in Kiev, Ukraine. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
“We pray from the bottom of our hearts that the Mother of God will protect Ukraine as she has in the past. May the people of Ukraine, with the strength of their resurrected sons, overcome the onslaught of the forces of darkness, and truth, freedom and life reign, ”said the bishops.
Ukrainian Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk expressed gratitude for the clarity of the Australian bishops’ appeal to Russia in the letter on Tuesday.
“We just received a letter of solidarity from the Australian Episcopal Conference yesterday,” Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk said in a video message.
“Australian Bishops are clear about who is at fault,” he said happily. “It is clear to them how many years-decades and centuries-old Ukraine has recognized oppression and was destroyed by the imperial ambitions of our northern neighbor.”
Source: Breitbart
