Ukrainian bishops urge voting for moral, economic recovery

Published: 2006-03-22

KIEV, Ukraine (CNS) -- Ukraine's Eastern Catholic bishops have urged citizens to back politicians promoting "moral and economic recovery" in the parliamentary elections and not to be discouraged by flaws in the voting process. "Many Ukrainians have lost trust and respect for any regime, forgetting the simple truth that a government will work for the nation only when it permanently demands legal and just conduct," the bishops said in a statement, signed by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. "Formation of a civil society begins with an active stance by all members. Social and political life is an area in which every believer should show responsibility for neighbors and the common good." Ukrainians go to the polls March 26 in the first parliamentary ballot since their country's December 2004 Orange Revolution. In this election, the Party of the Regions, headed by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, is expected to gain at least 30 percent of the votes.

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