RCC bishops urge to "clarify dark spots" between Ukraine and Poland

Polish Catholic bishops call for clarification of the "dark spots" in relations with Ukraine. Photo: episkopat.pl

The Permanent Council of Bishops of Poland called for clarifying the dark spots in relations with Ukraine. The Catholic bishops spoke out in favor of an honest historical dialogue between the peoples and condemned any manifestations of national hostility.

Members of the Permanent Council of Bishops published an official appeal against the backdrop of increasing media reports about conflicts between Poles and Ukrainians. In the bishops' view, any such incidents deserve strict condemnation.

"Recently, the media have been describing cases of growing aggression occurring between Ukrainians and Poles," the bishops write in their appeal. "All these incidents, regardless of whether they have a national, hooligan, or criminal background, deserve condemnation."

They recalled that Polish society showed outstanding compassion after the start of full-scale military operations on Ukrainian territory in February 2022. Catholic parishes, charitable foundations, and thousands of ordinary citizens welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees, providing them with housing, food, medical, legal, and spiritual support.

"We call on believers and non-believers, people of good will in Poland, to seek above all a spirit of reconciliation and Christian love in Polish-Ukrainian relations. We call for an honest historical dialogue so that the dark spots of our common history are fully clarified." The bishops also called on society to abandon hostile nationalist arguments in disputes.

As the UOJ reported, Zelensky ordered all archives on the Volhynia massacre opened.

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