Archbishop Borys Gudziak Shares Catholic View on Ukraine at “Citizens of Faith” Conference

Archbishop Borys focused on the suffering caused by the war in Ukraine. He shared facts about the number of people killed, homes destroyed, and millions forced to flee. He spoke about more than 20,000 Ukrainian children taken by Russia and re-educated to forget their families and homeland. Special attention was paid to the Russian  persecution of churches and religious groups in the occupied parts of Ukraine.

“This war is not about land,” he said. “Russia is much bigger than Ukraine — 28 times larger. And Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994. By 2014, it had only about 15,000 ready soldiers. Ukraine is not a threat.”

He added, “It’s about a grab — the neocolonial ambitions of Russia, which is the last empire in the world. Putin’s main goal is to weaken the Western world. He is explicit — it’s a war with America.”

Archbishop Borys warned about the dangerous ideas behind this war. He spoke about the “Russian World” ideology, which started inside the Russian Orthodox Church. He quoted Patriarch Kirill, who uses religious language to justify the war, even calling it a “metaphysical war.”

Russia claims to defend traditional Christian values, but the Archbishop said that in reality, the Russian people suffer and are neglected by the state.

He invited the audience to come to Ukraine and witness what is happening: “Ukraine is an epicenter of global change,” he said.

Even in the face of so much pain, Archbishop Borys ended his talk with a message of hope: “I have great confidence that God’s truth will prevail.”

Photo by Napa Institute