Why West Keeps Quiet as Masked Thugs Seize Christian Cathedral in Ukraine
Over a hundred masked men stormed the Archangel Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkassy during a liturgy, evicting the faithful and stealing icons.
The violent seizure of Archangel Michael’s Cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Cherkassy by a group of masked thugs during a liturgy “can be seen as a severe violation of religious freedom and human rights,” says Dr. Marco Marsili, Researcher at Cà Foscari University of Venice and at the Research Center of the Institute of Political Studies at Portuguese Catholic University.
“For a devout believer, regardless of their denomination, this attack would represent a profound desecration of a sacred space,” he states. “Churches are considered places of refuge, prayer, and peace, and an attack during a nighttime liturgy—when worshippers are engaged in deep spiritual practice—would evoke feelings of deep shock and sorrow.”
Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe in 2022 also means that “religious communities connected to the Moscow Patriarchate may now be perceived as being outside the direct protection of European human rights mechanisms, further complicating the response of EU institutions,” Dr. Marsili says.
Pastor Mark Burns, personal friend of Donald Trump and former member of The White House evangelical council, has also condemned the attack on the cathedral, insisting that it “should be categorized at the highest level of terrorism and should be disposed of quickly.”
“I agree wholeheartedly that every organization that believes in human rights should speak against this catastrophe that has taken place on innocent, free people in Ukraine as they are worshiping in their faith. I stand with the believers and will continually speak against any form of violence, any form of evil that is coming against any group of faith in the world,” he says.
Pastor Burns also has slams the current US leadership over an apparent lack of response to this attack on the faithful, insisting that the Biden-Harris administration has “very low regards to people of faith in America, in the world.”