Pope Francis criticizes push to ban activities of Russian-affiliated religious organizations in Ukraine

Pope Francis criticized on Aug. 25 Ukraine's move to potentially ban the activities of Russian-affiliated religious organizations amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, saying that "churches are not to be touched."

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill on Aug. 24 which was passed by the parliament four days earlier.

"I am concerned for the freedom of those who pray because true prayer is always for everyone. One does not commit evil by praying. If someone commits harm against their people, they will be guilty of that, but they cannot have done harm because they prayed," Pope Francis said following his Sunday Angelus blessing.

"Let those who wish to pray in what they consider their Church be allowed to do so."

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which is legally subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church, has been suspected of links and sympathies to Russia throughout the full-scale war.

It is not to be confused with the autocephalous (autonomous) Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is fully separate from Moscow.

A number of clergymen of the UOC-MP have been accused of collaborating with Russia and justifying Russian aggression, including bishops and other high-ranking members.

Over 100 UOC-MP clergy members have come under criminal investigation since the outbreak of the full-scale war, the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) press service told the Kyiv Independent. Almost 50 of them have been charged, and sentences have been issued in 26 cases, the SBU said.

The law enters into force 30 days after its publication, but UOC-MP communities will have nine months to fully break ties with the Russian church.

Cutting ties with Moscow — What does Ukraine’s church bill really mean

Editor’s note: The article was expanded with comments by religious scholar Oleksandr Brodetskyi. Ukraine’s parliament passed on Aug. 20 a much-debated bill banning activities of religious organizations with ties to Russia, a country whose armies are currently occupying large swathes of Ukraine’s la…

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek