Pope Francis condemns Ukraine’s ban of Russian-linked Orthodox Church

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the Ukraine government's ban of the Russian-linked Orthodox Church.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday signed a law barring religious groups with ties to Russia. The bill was signed on the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, which included Russia.

"Please, let no Christian Church be abolished directly or indirectly," the pope said during his weekly address . "Churches are not to be touched!"

He began his remarks on the situation in Ukraine by saying: I continue to follow with sorrow the fighting in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. And in thinking about the laws recently adopted in Ukraine, I fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for all.

"A person does not commit evil because of praying. If someone commits evil against his people, he will be guilty for it, but he cannot have committed evil because he prayed. So let those who want to pray be allowed to pray in what they consider their Church.

Zelensky and the pope met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in June in Italy.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church officially broke away from the Moscow patriarchy in 2022.

The bill, approved Tuesday 265-29 by Ukraine's parliament, gives the parishes affected nine months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

During his nightly address , Zelensky said: "Ukrainian orthodoxy today is taking a step toward liberation from the devils of Moscow."

Mykyta Poturaiev, a Ukrainian member of Parliament who sponsored the bill, said: The Moscow Patriarchate is not an inspiration but a participant in the war."

The church, known as the Moscow Patriarchate, said it's a "clear violation of internationally recognized human rights in the field of religious freedom."

The majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox.

Sixty-three percent of Ukrainians believe the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should be completely banned in Ukraine, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. The percentage rises to 83% of Ukrainians who believe that the state should intervene in the activities of the church.