Religious leaders discuss with Ukrainian Prime Minister celebrating holidays during quarantine

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Chairman of the Council of Churches, thanked the state authorities, in particular the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, for their cooperation. He expressed hope for the introduction of pastoral care into the health system. “The presence of a medical chaplain is very important not only for patients, but also for medical professionals. We pray for them, but we also want to be there to support them," he said.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav added that the presence of the chaplain is very important in the penitentiary sphere, too, and recalled the need for official employment of chaplains.

The Head of the UGCC also drew attention to the importance of legal regulation of the issue of commercial surrogacy. According to him, it is important to seek some international experience in this matter in order to achieve positive results, protect our women, and thus prevent human trafficking.

In addition, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told the head of the Ukrainian government about a number of important meetings of the Council of Churches with the Ministry of Health, in particular with the Center for Public Health, with the Ministers of Education and Environment.

The chairman of the AUCCRO expressed hope that due to the cooperation, the state and the religious environment will develop a common policy on various important issues.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine thanked the representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations for understanding the need for the state to impose temporary restrictions and for supporting the popularization of the Covid-19 vaccination process.

Denys Shmyhal recalled that the government of Ukraine equated the clergy to social workers. "Priests," he explained, "work a lot with people, are leaders of their communities, which deserves special attention from the state."

As the religious community of Ukraine will celebrate a number of important holidays in April-May, including Palm Sunday, Easter, Ramadan, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for all to comply with quarantine restrictions and recommendations regarding worship services, religious rites, and ceremonies during the observation of these holidays.

"It is important that this joy of the holidays is not overshadowed by the growth of mortal cases. We appreciate that the representatives of religious organizations do everything to comply with quarantine norms. For its part, the government will continue to make every effort to ensure that the state policy in the field of religion is efficient and aimed at the realization of the rights and freedoms of citizens," assured the Prime Minister.

The UGCC Department for Information