His Beatitude Sviatoslav met in Vienna with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn
The Archbishop of Vienna assured the Head of the UGCC of the Church’s solidarity in Austria during a short meeting in Vienna.
The Archbishop of Vienna received the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church on Wednesday morning in the Archbishop’s Palace, where they celebrated the Divine Service in the chapel of St. Andrew the First-Called. After that, there was a conversation about the current situation in Ukraine and the numerous Ukrainian refugees in Austria. Cardinal Schönborn assured the Head of the UGCC of the solidarity between Austria and the Catholic Church.
After the meeting, Cardinal Schönborn endorsed this solidarity in an interview with the Katpress newspaper. This war is “an attack on a sovereign country and cannot be justified in any way.” Moreover, Russia’s brutal war of aggression is being waged in a way that violates international law and international humanitarian law, the cardinal said, referring to the destruction of infrastructure and shelling of civilian objects. So you have to call a spade a spade: “These are notorious war crimes,” Schoenborn said.
The Archbishop of Vienna was once again highly infuriated at the position of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, responsible church officials use the Gospel to justify the war, discredit the people in Ukraine, and convince the world that it is “fair game.” At the same time, however, the cardinal emphasized that his criticism is not aimed at ordinary Russian Orthodox believers. On the contrary, they are “brothers and sisters in the faith whom we respect and value.”
In the conversation, the Head of the UGCC expressed gratitude for Austria’s help and openness to Ukrainians. His Beatitude Sviatoslav also expressed his wish that people in Austria receive as much accurate information as possible about the situation in Ukraine, which is extremely dramatic.
Only on Tuesday, the cardinal urged not to forget people in Ukraine. According to Schönborn, many in Austria will also be forced to celebrate Christmas more modestly, but given Ukraine’s significant needs and suffering, he called for special solidarity.
Prepared by the press service of the Ordinariate
for the faithful of all Eastern Catholic Churches in Austria
according to the publication of the Austrian Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Katpress”
