Major Archbishop thanks Pope for becoming 'center of universal solidarity' with Ukraine (zhyve.tv (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church))

“Special thanks today from Ukraine goes to the Holy Father, Pope Francis,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in his December 25 message, as he cited the Pontiff’s recent words and material support.

“Greeting you, Holy Father, on this holy day, we want to thank you for becoming the center of universal solidarity with the long-suffering Ukrainian people,” he continued. “Through such concrete gestures of Christian love, we feel that God is with us. We feel that we are not forgotten and abandoned in our misery. We feel that the Lord God is coming to be born today in Ukraine.”

In addition to lamenting the day’s Russian attacks, Major Archbishop Shevchuk expressed concern for those who “succumb to the temptation to celebrate Christmas without Christ, imitating various Western commercial, sometimes even ideological influences.”