Paul KeenanGreek Catholic priests in Crimea have evacuated their families to Ukraine amid threats to the Church locally and the abductions of three priests as tensions increase over the future direction of the region.
Directed by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarchy, clerics moved wives and children into Ukraine ahead of last weekend’s Crimean referendum on Russian rule. However, despite the threats, the priests have remained to minister to their congregations.
Last weekend, newswires reported the disappearance of Fr Nicholas Kvych, a priest in Savastopol, allegedly by pro-Russian forces. Initially there was confusion over the fate of the priest until he briefly reappeared, only to be snatched again and taken to an unknown location. At the same time, two other clerics, Frs Bohdan Kosteskiy, from Yevpatoria, and Fr Ihor Gabryliv, from Yalta, were also kidnapped.
Now freed, Fr Kvych was spirited from Crimea into Ukraine where he reported that his fellow clerics are now also safe.
Bishop Borys Gudziak, Eparch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy, condemned the abductions as a “gross violation of human rights” and insisted that, in the face of threats, his priests would remain in Crimea. In this, he added, they were inspired by the words of Pope Francis ““who said a pastor needs to have the smell of his sheep. And our pastors have been with the people, and they’re today with the people enduring this occupation in the Crimea.”