Destro in US Congress condemns silence on UOC persecution

Robert Destro. Photo: X Robert Amsterdam

Robert Destro. Photo: X Robert Amsterdam

On June 4, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Robert Destro spoke at hearings in Congress and in his speech condemned the hypocrisy of official Washington regarding the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the authorities, reports the UOC lawyer Robert Amsterdam on his X account.

"We say we are for religious freedom, but we are for the deconstruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Destro addressed the congressmen. "We, you, know that the Ukrainian authorities are arresting priests and nuns. You know how it looks – they fund Greek Orthodox newspapers but are silent about Ukrainian ones. The organization of Ukrainian journalists, Orthodox journalists, nothing is said about them."

The former assistant secretary stated that such hypocrisy is unacceptable and shameful.

As reported, Robert Destro, who served as Assistant Secretary of State from 2017-2021 and is a key member of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's team, spoke out against the collective responsibility of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's parishioners.

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