Shevchuk urges Ukrainian authorities to oppose UOC communities abroad
The Uniate head stated that the UOC is attracting parishioners away from Greek Catholics in European countries to create a "protest potential" against Ukrainian authorities.
In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, UGCC head Sviatoslav Shevchuk claimed that the UOC is establishing "parallel" communities abroad to those of the Greek Catholic Church, targeting Russian-speaking parishioners.
According to him, this issue has been particularly raised by Greek Catholic priests in Germany. Shevchuk accused "pro-Russian oligarchs" of being behind this situation, alleging that they "fled from Ukraine and are using Russian money to establish parallel [to the UGCC] Ukrainian communities there."
The UGCC head is convinced that "priests of the Moscow Church from Ukraine come to these social centers and create religious hubs specifically to draw people there."
"Their intentions are very simple – to create a protest potential from among our emigrants, who will later protest against the policies of their state and advocate for peace worldwide in the context of the 'Russian world,'" Shevchuk asserted.
He further stated that "this poses a challenge both to our communities, which have existed there for decades, and to Ukrainian diplomacy, which sees the danger of manipulating the feelings or needs of our citizens who find themselves caught in the networks of Russian influence in European countries."
Earlier, the UOJ reported Shevchuk saying that "after the de-Moscovization of the Pochaiv Lavra, the authorities should turn their attention" to his organization.
