The Ukrainian government is now launching attacks against its people’s religious freedom with the drafting of a new law that will ban all churches affiliated with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims the attack on religion will stop Ukraine from being weakened “within” by people of faith who may affiliate with such churches as the Russian Orthodox faith.
Reuters reports:
In a move condemned in Moscow, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council told the government to draft the law following a series of raids on parishes that Kyiv says could be taking orders from Moscow as Russia wages war on Ukraine.
The security council, which groups top security, military and political figures, also ordered investigations into suspected “subversive activities of Russian special services in the religious environment of Ukraine” and called for sanctions against unspecified individuals.
Ukrainian media quoted sources as saying a pro-Russia former lawmaker and a senior cleric already faced “personal” sanctions, but the reports could not be confirmed independently.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also continued its raids on Friday, saying it searched at least five parishes belonging to a branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which until May was subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church.
During an address to the nation Thursday, Zelensky claimed, “We have to create conditions where no actors dependent on the aggressor state (Russia) will have an opportunity to manipulate Ukrainians and weaken Ukraine from within,” adding, “We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul.”
The political class have realized the final barrier to their unchallenged power is religion (See Karl Mark, opiate of the people) and have reached their fill. The USSA Administration supports through taxpayer funds their unlimited personal graft; expect no challenge. The BHO Administration demeaned those who “clutched their guns and bibles” directly attacking both the First and Second Amendments of The Constitution. Most recently, the so-called “Respect For Marriage Act” threatens historical religious dogma.
The government no longer protects the people through a common bond. We have re-entered the realm of unquestionable obedience to our political masters. Perhaps this is the true meaning of “Hell on Earth”?
There is a reason that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church chose to split from the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) several years ago. The head of the ROC, Patriarch Kirill, is a supporter of Putin and endorses the war on Ukraine, stating that Ukraine and Russia are one and the same and should be united. He encourages the ROC’s pre split adherents, some 12% of Ukraine’s churchgoers, to work toward this union.The law focuses only on political activists who hide behind the church to carry out Kirill’s political, non religious, dictates. None of the other 88% of adherents to the other various orthodox and non orthodox Ukrainian churches are involved. Your staff writers should better inform themselves rather than succumbing to the lure of sensational headlines. That’s a tactic of the Left.