The change, enacted in legislation signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July, reflects both Ukrainians' dismay with the 22-month-old Russian invasion and their assertion of a national identity.
This issue of A Public Witness offers a crash course lesson from one of the preeminent experts on Ukrainian religious freedom to consider what’s happening in the besieged nation and how religious freedom rights are undermined by Russia.
Pope Francis and the Vatican are pursuing peace in the globe’s two major conflicts, working through official and unofficial channels.
Draft law 8371, which requires another vote before moving to the president’s desk, would give Ukrainian authorities power to examine the connection of religious groups in Ukraine to the Russian Federation and to ban those whose leadership is outside of Ukraine.
The U.S. continues to not only ignore the Convention on Cluster Munitions but also to ship the weapons to Ukraine. So this issue of A Public Witness uncovers the history of cluster bombs and the moral failure of nations that continue to utilize them.
Pope Francis and Ukraine have a different vision for peace in the region.
Earlier this month, Russian police raided a prominent Baptist minister’s home for criticizing the military. But before they could arrest him, he slipped out of the country. We spoke with him as he recalled his ministry and courageous defiance.
When the war started, most priests remained silent, fearing pressure from the church and state authorities; only a small fraction have spoken out. Of more than 40,000 clergymen in the Russian Orthodox Church, only 300 priests signed a public letter calling for peace in Ukraine.
Keeping channels for dialogue open with the Kremlin, Pope Francis has bucked the Western world's refusal to take a mediated approach to ending the Ukraine war.
The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to “abandon the Russian heritage,” including that of “imposing the celebration of Christmas” on Jan. 7.