Head of the UGCC, "If we do not cherish institution of the family, we will always face social orphans"

Saturday, 26 October 2013, 11:45
From the point of view of a Christian a family is an institution established by the Creator as fruitful and indissoluble unity of man and woman. Only such a family can give proper education to children. On October the 24th, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) said about this in Kiev during a roundtable discussion of social orphan hood.

Public debate on this subject, which was initiated by inter-fractional deputies of unity " Equality ", took place at the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine .Yuri Pavlenko, children’s rights representative of the President of Ukraine, MPs, representatives of NGOs and charitable foundations took part in the round table discussion, in particular the matter of social orphan hood among families of Ukrainian labor migrants was discussed.

In his address Patriarch Sviatoslav informed the participants of the event that the Church has experience of work with immigrants and their families, both in Ukraine and in our parishes abroad. There are centers of care and rehabilitation of immigrants’ families in the dioceses of the Church.

He emphasized that today, due to many social and economic developments the institution of the family suffers. "Orphanage occurs when a child does not have custody of his father and mother. Unless the institution of family is supported on social, national level, we will always have a problem of social orphans. Because social orphans are not just in the families of immigrants, but also in the families of successful businessmen who are not engaged in raising their children. A single government program, even the best social service cannot replace a father and mother " - said the head of the church .

Patriarch Sviatoslav said that from the point of view of a Christian a family is an institution established by the Creator as fruitful and indissoluble unity of man and woman. According to his words, only such a family can give proper education to children. "If we do not cherish the institution of the family, we will always face the phenomenon of social orphans” - said he.

The head of the UGCC also touched the topic Ukrainian schools abroad which need a lot of support. He gave the example of the Ukrainian school in Athens. On this occasion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav asked to pay special attention to Ukrainian school in Greece.

The roundtable was attended by Bishop Joseph ( Milyan ) , who presented the work report that the Church does among  the children of immigrants.

As the result of the roundtable discussion a resolution for greater cooperation between the churches, religious organizations and the government of Ukraine for the protection of the family and social care for orphans was adopted.

UGCC Department of Information

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