Archbishop of Kiev: grateful to the Pope, he personally contributed to freeing the two priests
«Pope Francis personally contributed to the liberation of our Redemptorist priests Bohdan and Ivan» from Russian captivity. This was underlined by the archbishop of Kiev, Sviatoslav Scevchuck the day after the release of the two priests. «We rejoice – says the major archbishop – because the Lord God has preserved the lives of our priests. In a moment of great joy today, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who did everything possible to make this day, this long-awaited moment, come. On my behalf and on behalf of our entire Church, I would like to express my gratitude to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who personally contributed to the liberation of our Redemptorist priests Bohdan and Ivan. Despite the great obstacles, given that their imprisonment lasted more than a year and a half, the efforts of Vatican diplomacy achieved a victorious result.” Shevchuck thanks all the Vatican diplomacy that has been expended: «I would like to thank all the employees of the diplomatic structures of the Holy See, in particular the Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin, and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, which the Holy Father has responsible for the release of captured and Ukrainian prisoners. Special thanks also go to Monsignor Visvaldas Kulbokas, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine. Today, we address words of gratitude to all the faithful of our Church, to the millions of Ukrainians who have prayed for the salvation and liberation of our priests.” Shevchuck still recalls that «today more than 28,000 Ukrainian civilians are prisoners in Russia. These are journalists, doctors, local self-government officials, members of the clergy, and cultural figures, all who are considered by Russians to be dangerous expressions of Ukrainian identity. Now we must all engage in the struggle to secure the release of all Ukrainian prisoners, including civilians, as their detention violates any international norms, practices of warfare and international law as such.”
