US resource attempts to discredit meeting on UOC protection at White House

Journalist of The Hill Laura Kelly. Photo: The Hill

The American resource The Hill published an article attempting to discredit participants of a meeting at the White House between the clergy of the Orthodox Churches of the USA and representatives of the US Office of Religious Affairs, reports UOJ in America.

On Monday afternoon, an article titled, “White House to meet clergy with ties to pro-war Russian Orthodox Church” was published by Laura Kelly of The Hill. This article was written about meetings between Orthodox laypeople, priests, and bishops with members of the Trump administration that are set to take place Tuesday on Capitol Hill. The topic of discussion is the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). 

The article quotes Congressman Joe Wilson saying that "ROCOR or other Russian Orthodox jurisdictions could serve as vehicles for intelligence collection or foreign influence operations directed at U.S. policymakers”.

Interestingly, after a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa earlier this month, Wilson – who is a member of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus – said, “Grateful to meet with President al-Sharaa. A free, united, prosperous Syria is the biggest opportunity since the end of the Cold War.”

Al-Sharaa is a former member of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group that splintered from al-Qaeda in 2016 and that has been responsible for the death and displacement of numerous Antiochian Orthodox Christians - Christians who could be called “vehicles for intelligence collection or foreign influence operations” using Wilson’s standards.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that a meeting dedicated to the UOC protection will be held at the White House.

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