Posted on 05/10/2014 2:16:33 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Speaking recently in Toronto, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church commented on “the reality of Russian aggression in Crimea, and the comfortable West’s inability to respond to this most dangerous development since World War II.”
The Euromaidan protests, which started in November and led to the departure of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February, were prompted by support for “the Association Agreement with the European Union, promised and reneged upon by the former president of Ukraine,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who leads the largest Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See.
“But as the government responded with brutality, the protests became much more than the voicing of a pro-European stance, they turned into a national movement to restore human dignity in a society that had been brutalized by a corrupt system that had abandoned the godless Soviet nomenklatura style of government in name only, but not in substance, after Ukrainian independence and the downfall of the Soviet Union,” he continued. “We believers cannot look at the denial of human dignity again and again without reacting. If it is all in the end about loving God and loving neighbor, then human dignity takes on an importance that is so central. It trumps considerations of gain, of personal success, of comfort and a quiet private life disengaged from the issues of civil society.”
The prelate continued:
Of course, from the great exultation of seeing off an unworthy president who fled the country at a time of crisis, leaving the Ukrainian Parliament to pick up the pieces and institute an interim executive, and a sense of triumph, we quickly were confronted with the reality of Russian aggression in Crimea, and the comfortable West’s inability to respond to this most dangerous development since World War II.Then the events in Eastern regions of Ukraine began, fomented again by special operatives from Russia, the “political tourists” in neat uniform, but without any identifying insignia, whom the people have christened “little green men”. And all this time some 40 thousand Russian troops at the border of Ukraine, to further cloud the minds and hearts of those people who had not yet been set free by the “revolution of human dignity.” And the propaganda war unleashed by Russia is the most twisted informational assault since Goebbels pontificated that if you brashly lie long enough, loudly enough some will inevitably believe you.“
A situation like ours can engender so much bitterness,” the prelate said. “Enmity between nations is a difficult thing to resist in a situation of aggression. It takes deep spiritual equanimity to be able to stand ready to defend one’s homeland without allowing one’s heart to be polluted by hatred for other nations. But this is what we expect of our people.”
He added:
We want them to know that God is with us, and for that reason the Church will stand with the people, but we also want them to understand that God loves the armies and the citizens of Russia, too. How can God love both sides? Let me ask you a rhetorical question. Who could believe in a God who only loves one of the sides? That does not eliminate the discernment of what is right and what is wrong. It does not eliminate the need to stand for justice and truth at the cost of perhaps sacrificing one’s life for it. But human dignity demands from us a respect for every human being and for every nation, ethnicity, and religious tradition. These are children of God we are talking about.
Missing...the box cars the showers and the soap.
EXAMPLE OF RUSSIAN GOEBBEL SCAM FINALLY DEBUNKED...
Moscow journalist says there was no murdered, pregnant woman in Odesa Trade Unions Building
A media reviewer from Moscow Elena Rykovtseva has debunked the myth of the pregnant Odesa woman in the Trade Unions Building. A photo of a murdered pregnant woman is being actively shared across social media, but the Moscow-based journalist says there was no pregnant woman in the building.
“Five days have gone by since the Odesa tragedy took place, yet I continue to come across references to “a pregnant woman in the Trade Unions Building.” Even those people who interpret the events from, relatively speaking, the “Maidan” side fall for this. And it absolutely bothers no one that there is still no information about a “pregnant woman.”
There are no relatives who would somehow speak out over the loss of their daughter (a sister, etc.), who was in such delicate condition; no father of the unborn child, although I understand that not every unborn child has a father who announces himself; no experts who could attest to this particular hair-raising fact. There’s a ton of hair-raising facts in this story, but surely, figuring out something like this would have to take priority! Or – failing to figure out.
After all, this is extremely effective in terms of propaganda”, writes the woman on her Facebook page.
“Back on Sunday, I already spoke to chief doctor of one of Odesa’s hospitals that is receiving the wounded. This doctor works day and night. He does not hang out on Facebook . As such, he learned of the existence of “a pregnant woman” only from me, and asked to see her photo. And he immediately said it was clearly an elderly woman who was photographed, for some reason, here in such a pose, likely in order to create the needed effect. But he, of course, called some of his higher medical authorities to find out if there were any pregnant women among the wounded and dead. He got a clear response that, no, there were not.”
A few days later the journalist phoned the doctor again, because she saw the photo still being shared actively.
“Now, as I keep coming across this bloodthirsty link over and again (it’s as if people get some peculiar pleasure when they post it), I go ahead and call this doctor once again, to find out if maybe some information about the deceased pregnant woman has come up by now. He said he checked it with another instance. No, nothing has come up. So, perhaps it’s time to stop reveling in that which was not and to start figuring out that which actually happened?”
WHAT HAPPENED IS ANOTHER RUSSIAN INTERNET SCAM...Ed
Trite Nazi comparisons are themselves a form of propaganda.
But comparisons are true Paul,
I suppose be be fair all around.... he should have
mentioned the DU, KOS, DNC, greenies, etc,
who make Nazis look like saints...Ed
“Missing...the box cars the showers and the soap.”
Germany really didn’t have those until 1941-2 - 8 years after Hitler took power. Give the Russians some time.
“Trite Nazi comparisons are themselves a form of propaganda.”
True, but neither “trite” nor “propaganda” mean “untrue” or “unjust” in themselves.
“Trite Nazi comparisons are themselves a form of propaganda.”
****************
Sometimes they just beg for the comparison though.
http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-divided-over-wwii-legacy-100702056.html
That means something when said about some twenty something American, but it doesn't have the same ring when said about this guy, in his part of the world.
Thanks Tailgunner Joe.
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