Free and responsible

The Institute of Religion and Society of the Ukrainian Catholic University held a round table meeting "Church and Elections" with participation of representatives of public organizations and Church institutions on 15 October in Lviv. The event took place on the occasion of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine planned for 28 October. Participants of the meeting discussed questions associated with political agitations in churches and during pilgrimages, purchase of votes under the pretext of poverty, retaining of power by dishonest means and failure of some politicians to fulfill their responsibilities. Mother and teacher. "The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) understands itself as a part of the civil society, which – if not developed enough – doesn’t allow to have true democracy in our country, says His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the UGCC, stressing that the major goal in this regard is to educate people to be "free and responsible" citizens. "We’re trying to educate them but not to indicate how they are supposed to make their choices in the upcoming elections. We are trying to be a Church that preaches the eternal values and is trying to be ‘Mater et magistra’ – Mother and teacher of the nation", concludes archbishop Shevchuk his comment for SIR Europe. In his address to the viewers of the TVi (independent Ukrainian TV channel) he exhorts the observers and members of the election committees not to be afraid to act according to their conscience: "Do not be afraid of those who want to put pressure on you, do not yield to intimidations of those who will force you to anything, manipulate the votes or fix the results". The Primate of the UGCC stressed that the people who will monitor the election process must not be afraid because "the fairness of the election depends directly on them". Cardinal Lubomyr Husar speaks about a "serious cadres crisis among politicians" in Ukraine, pointing to the fact that "people are really disappointed in politicians". In this regard, bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, urges politicians to refrain from unjust methods of running election campaigns and earning the support of their fellow citizens: "Buying votes, parliamentary candidates show a great disrespect for their own people, treating them as a commodity that can be bought". Respect for the Christian values and the good of humanity. The importance of the parliamentary elections in Ukraine is clear also to the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). Mons. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, president of the Bishops’ conference, offers its observation based on the conclusions and encouragement of II Vatican Council. "We try to approach to the lay people, to involve them in various activities of the Church. And we see that the nation is very open and accepts these initiatives with a big heart, people feel committed and responsible for the Christian life, for the life of the Church", testifies Mons. Mokrzycki talking about the importance of the attitude towards the elections of 28 October, which he considers to be "a very important matter" for development of both political and Christian life. "We as a Church do not engage directly in politics but we encourage our faithful to participate, to vote for the parties that defend Christian values and work for the good of humanity. And we hope that our faithful will assume this commitment with great responsibility", adds head of the RCC in Ukraine in an interview for SIR Europe.Other Christian denominations. While the wish of the Catholic Church that its clergy does not involve in the election campaign is respected, other Christian denominations seem to have problem in this area. Bishop Valerii Reshetynskyi of the Association of Evangelical Churches Ukrainian Missionary Church and pastor of the Christian Hope Chruch in Kyiv decided to run in the parliamentary elections as a representative of the Green Planet party. There are also three other Protestant ministers in the same political party who are running in the elections. The candidates state that the Evangelical Churches of Ukraine do not participate in political life but that they have the right and should express their active position in this matter. Fr. Hryhorii Bolshakov, the senior priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate has even promoted himself on the walls of his church in Pozniaky, with a poster including the campaign slogan: "Vote with your heart and with your soul! Humans deserve human life!". The minister intends to settle the needs of the poor if elected, despite the fact that the Kyivan Patriarchate disapproves of participation of its clergy in the election campaign. According to its spokesman, bishop Yevstratii Zoria, it "contradicts the Church tradition".