Ukrainian Catholic leaders back opposition, speak of electoral fraud

Published: 2004-11-24

LVIV, Ukraine (CNS) -- Ukrainian Catholic leaders backed opposition protests and said the Nov. 21 presidential elections were marked by fraud. They also urged the government to avoid violence as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets of Western Ukraine to protest election results that declared pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner. "When people take to the streets to defend their constitutional rights in a peaceful way, they are not a dark mass 'off the street.' These are brave people, self-sacrificing and responsible, who should be honored and whose voice should be heard, for 'the voice of the people is the voice of God,'" said the synod of Ukrainian Catholic bishops, whose Eastern-rite church has some 3,300 parishes, mostly in Western Ukraine. Their statement was released at a Lviv press conference Nov. 23. "So we turn to those in positions of power, entrusted with power by this same people, asking them not to give in to temptation during the resolution of this very difficult situation, not to use their standing, the means of force and law-enforcement structures for their own narrow interests against their own people," the bishops said. They said that before the election, the church had urged citizens to vote for a "worthy candidate ... according to the voice of conscience." However, they said the elections were marred by "one-sided information," "buying votes" and other abuses, while attempts had been made to falsify the results.

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