A Ukrainian Catholic bishop has spoken of the immense value of peace and religious freedom as his country marks 35 years since regaining independence from the Soviet Union while continuing to endure the devastation of war.
Bishop Vitalij Skomarovskyj of Lutsk, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ukraine of the Latin Rite, said the years since independence had brought Ukrainians freedoms that previous generations were denied, but that Russia’s full-scale invasion had also brought home to him the true cost of war.
Speaking to Vatican News, Bishop Skomarovskyj reflected on Ukraine’s journey since independence, its experience of religious persecution under Soviet rule and the solidarity it has received from people around the world since the outbreak of war.
Although 35 years represents a relatively short period in Ukraine’s long history, the bishop said the country had experienced enormous change during that time, from “the severe economic crisis of the 1990s” to the conflict that began in 2014 and “escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022”.
One of the most significant changes, he said, has been the establishment of genuine religious freedom.
“Today we live in an independent state and enjoy genuine freedom of conscience, not merely freedom written on paper,” he said. “Every person has the opportunity to profess and bear witness to their faith.”
He contrasted the situation with life under the Soviet Union, when religious freedom was formally recognised in the constitution, but believers and churches faced persecution in practice, with believers being imprisoned, barred from certain jobs, or even dying for their faith.
The bishop reflected on the human cost of the ongoing war and the Ukrainians who have lost their lives defending the country.
He said those going to the front do not necessarily think of themselves as sacrificing their lives, but instead “hope to survive”. while carrying out a role that exposes them to “mortal danger.”
“Ukrainian citizens have to go into the fight to defend themselves because there is no one else who can do it in our place,” he said.
Bishop Skomarovskyj said the price being paid “is truly enormous, but so is the threat hanging over us”.
The experience of living through war has also profoundly changed his own understanding of the reality of conflict: “I could never have imagined that war was actually like this.”
Bishop Skomarovskyj echoed St John Paul II’s belief that war was a great scourge that must be avoided wherever possible.
“Peace is an immense gift, while war is an immeasurable evil for anyone caught up in it. I have come to understand profoundly that prayer for peace has immeasurable value, because peace is an extremely precious good,” he said.
“We probably understand its value most clearly when peace is gone, when there is war and everyone is in danger: children, the elderly, the weak and the strong - no one is excluded. It is then that you understand how precious peace - the absence of war - is for a people and a nation.”
Alongside the suffering, Bishop Skomarovskyj said one of the most powerful experiences of the war had been witnessing the continued international solidarity shown towards Ukrainians.
He expressed gratitude for the material assistance and prayers that have continued to come from people around the world, saying the support had endured despite the length of the conflict.
“People do not grow tired of praying for us and helping us. This is a tremendous gift,” he said. “Such solidarity does not come from being forced to give it; it comes directly from the heart. It is the voice of people’s hearts.”
The bishop said this support was helping Ukrainians persevere through the war.
“And all of this gives us so much strength and hope. We continue to pray that this war will end as soon as possible,” he concluded.
