An appeal to the Christian Churches of Ukraine (+ video)

Lvov (Ukraine), 12 July 2011

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate (UOC KP)

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC)

Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC)

Roman Catholic Church (RCC)

Ukrainian Eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (UE AAC)

All-Ukrainian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith – Pentecostals (AU CEF)

All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians – Baptists (AU CEC)

Ukrainian Lutheran Church (ULC)

Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church (UCEC)

Union of Free Churches of Christians of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine (UFC CEFU)

German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine (GELCU)

Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church (SCRC)

Ukrainian Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (UUC SDA)

On 24 May 2011 President of Ukraine signed the document “Strategy of juvenile criminal justice in Ukraine”. It is virtually the approval of the so-called juvenile justice system. The Parliament is to take a final decision in August as to whether this supranational structure will be established in Ukraine. What actually does it mean?

Juvenile justice removes children from good families without any witnesses, without trial, without any real guilt and without a chance of defence, places them in reception camps and through the system of so-called international adoption sells them preferentially to the pseudo-families of homosexuals and paedophiles. Some of these children are criminally sold for the purpose of human organs, as admitted by the Interior Minister of Italy R. Maroni. Out of 1290 Russian children who were sold for adoption to Italy only 5 have been found. Others are missing. In Germany, 70,000 children were removed in 2009. In France, there are two million artificial orphans. An example of cruelty of the juvenile justice system is the case of the Russian actress Natalie Zakharova, who 13 years ago in France was deprived of her three-year-old daughter by reason of stifling maternal love. The mother, who demanded the return of her daughter, is kept in prison and her daughter is placed in a closed children’s home. The prognosis for Ukraine after the August approval of juvenile justice is removal of 30-50,000 children every year.

Juvenile justice is associated with so-called gender ideology and with the promotion of homosexuality in the Family Code. The supranational dictatorship of the juvenile justice system is worse than Stalinism or Nazism. It disguises itself with lofty terms of combating violence in the family and protecting the rights of women and children. But in reality the opposite is true. Within a month of juvenile justice experimenting in the Poltava region, three mothers committed suicide out of despair after their children had been removed from them.

Politicians and the Ukrainian society expect a clear and uncompromising attitude of the Christians of Ukraine towards this most topical issue that concerns every citizen. Indifference at this time, especially on the part of Church representatives who are entrusted with responsibility, is not only a sin but a downright crime against God, against children and against the nation. The responsibility falls in the first place on the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate (BCP) systematically alarms the Members of Parliament and other politicians, calling them to remain faithful to moral values and spiritual traditions of the Ukrainian nation.

The Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church, which forms part of the BCP, organized several demonstrations against the introduction of homosexuality and juvenile justice both this and last year.

Now our Patriarchate calls upon all Christian Churches of Ukraine individually to make an appeal in writing to the Parliament of Ukraine, demanding that the MPs should vote against the establishment of the juvenile justice system this August!

As spiritual shepherds You have the responsibility at this critical moment to make Your attitude public before Your believers and to provide them with true information. Moreover, mobilize Your believers and urge them to write appeals to Members of Parliament or to organize demonstrations with a strong demand that the criminal juvenile justice system be not approved in August this year.

Your appeal to the Parliament of Ukraine should be published on Your official websites no later than 1 August 2011. After this time it will be too late. In case of legalization of the juvenile justice system the responsibility will fall on the Churches which neglected to make an appeal to the Parliament and to stand in defence of the Ukrainian children and Ukrainian family. On 2 August 2011, the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate will publicly announce which of the Churches betrayed Christ and the Ukrainian nation and which of them stood bravely for God and for Ukraine!

On behalf of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

Copies to:

– President of Ukraine

– Prime Minister of Ukraine

– President of the Parliament of Ukraine

– Members of the Parliament of Ukraine