A priest of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Revd Dr Athanasius McVay, and a member of the Committee of the Society, has posted a personal appeal to Catholics in the UK.
“The Ukrainian Nation is fighting for its life against a totalitarian dictatorship of thugs, whose actions both Her Majesty’s and the German ambassador have vehemently protested against not two days ago.
The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has been at the forefront of the struggle for civil and religious liberty for over a century. Catholic lay leaders, hierarchs, and journalists throughout the world have recognized the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine and have lent support in word and deed.
Recently, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York offered strong and unwavering support in the name of American Catholics and expressed his strong admiration for Patriarch Sviatoslav and Bishop Gudziak. Other Catholic Churches have also expressed solidarity.
In the United Kingdom, however, the Catholic press has chosen to ignore our struggle for freedom and its consequences for the Churches. Church leaders also remain ominously silent. This shunning is in direct contrast with many clamorous ecumenical acta et gesta toward those of other confessions. Since our parents taught us the maxim that “charity begins at home,” one might question why members of the Latin Church pay so little heed to their authentic Sister Church, with which they are in full ecclesial communion.
What is worse, today an attack against our hierarchy appeared in The Tablet: http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/362/0/ukraine-government-threatens-pro-eu-greek-catholic-priests-saying-mass-in-independence-square, reporting a “fictitious” critique by unnamed RC bishops”.
Ukrainian Catholic priest in UK: Catholic press has chosen to ignore our struggle for freedom