Thanks for bringing in the perspective of the UGCC bishop. FWIW, consistent with it, it bears noting there is a not insignificant Latin Rite Catholicism in Ukraine as well. Neither rite would do well under Russian rule.
Thank you for this very informative interview. When Crimea happened a few years ago, I wondered why the US did not take a stronger stance against it... it seems obvious that Putin has imperial ambitions.
I'm curious, what in Bp. Gudziak's statements is false or misleading? Sources please. I don't see any evidence that he, JD, Ed., or indeed anybody involved with the Pillar are "warmongering neocon hawks." Give me some sources for that, too, and I'll gladly read and learn from them. The U.S. and the whole West is currently the least interested in foreign adventuring that it has ever been in my lifetime - see, e.g., Hong Kong. And there's a whole lot of daylight, it seems to me, between the ostrich impression the U.S. has been doing about Russia's and China's increasing aggression in the last 10 years and getting embroiled in another Vietnam/Iraq/Afghanistan. I've seen no propaganda. Feel free to show me what you think is propaganda and prove why it's that, and not just people having an opinion you disagree with on an ethical question.
The bishop and his flock in Ukraine need and deserve our prayers. Nevertheless, this statement is, at best, poorly informed: "I find it flabbergasting to see conservative Catholics look to Putin or to Russia as a bastion of traditional values."
If there is any evidence of conservative Catholics holding up Putin or Russia as a bastion of traditional values, The Pillar should write a follow up and identify them for the opprobrium they deserve. Otherwise, both the Pillar and the archbishop owe conservative Catholics an apology for this calumny.
I am aware of many conservatives frustrated with the trajectory of liberalism in the US, which has led to many of the same maladies as those in Putin's Russia: abortion, suicide, alcoholism, and despair. Sure, we are not (yet?) at the point of poisoning or shooting political dissidents in the capital but it there any doubt that the liberal regime in the US "crushes human dignity"? But certainly, the materialistic, atheistic liberalism dominant in the US and Europe is fair game for criticism. No?
Lastly, where is Pope Francis on this? His occasional statements have been weak and ineffective. Now is the time for leadership, before it is too late.
Thank you for this interview. I am an American, of Ukrainian heritage, and a lifelong member of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Archbishop Gudziak is my bishop. Please pray for Ukraine and its people. Pray for peace and that Ukraine may continue to craft its own just, independent, sovereign nation without Russian interference. Pray that the leaders of Ukraine’s allies have the courage, wisdom and fortitude to boldly and firmly put an end to Russia’s attempts to control Ukraine and its sovereign territory.
I really appreciated your question around critiques of liberalism vs. confronting the immediate Russian violence. I'm a fan of some prominent critics of liberalism and I've been conflicted over some of their responses to the crisis. I'm glad to hear the Archeparch say there are "profound cultural problems in Western democracies". There are problems that liberalism is absolutely implicated in. And to some degree, I do worry that Ukrainians', or any other peoples', longing gaze toward Western Europe will ultimately result in more insidious social ills later on. But still, it's off-putting when liberalism skeptics fight people who don't like what Russia's doing as opposed meaningfully putting forth an argument that "we don't like liberalism, but our vision of it is also not Vladimir Putin's illberalism."
Thanks for bringing in the perspective of the UGCC bishop. FWIW, consistent with it, it bears noting there is a not insignificant Latin Rite Catholicism in Ukraine as well. Neither rite would do well under Russian rule.
Thank you for this very informative interview. When Crimea happened a few years ago, I wondered why the US did not take a stronger stance against it... it seems obvious that Putin has imperial ambitions.
I'm curious, what in Bp. Gudziak's statements is false or misleading? Sources please. I don't see any evidence that he, JD, Ed., or indeed anybody involved with the Pillar are "warmongering neocon hawks." Give me some sources for that, too, and I'll gladly read and learn from them. The U.S. and the whole West is currently the least interested in foreign adventuring that it has ever been in my lifetime - see, e.g., Hong Kong. And there's a whole lot of daylight, it seems to me, between the ostrich impression the U.S. has been doing about Russia's and China's increasing aggression in the last 10 years and getting embroiled in another Vietnam/Iraq/Afghanistan. I've seen no propaganda. Feel free to show me what you think is propaganda and prove why it's that, and not just people having an opinion you disagree with on an ethical question.
The bishop and his flock in Ukraine need and deserve our prayers. Nevertheless, this statement is, at best, poorly informed: "I find it flabbergasting to see conservative Catholics look to Putin or to Russia as a bastion of traditional values."
If there is any evidence of conservative Catholics holding up Putin or Russia as a bastion of traditional values, The Pillar should write a follow up and identify them for the opprobrium they deserve. Otherwise, both the Pillar and the archbishop owe conservative Catholics an apology for this calumny.
I am aware of many conservatives frustrated with the trajectory of liberalism in the US, which has led to many of the same maladies as those in Putin's Russia: abortion, suicide, alcoholism, and despair. Sure, we are not (yet?) at the point of poisoning or shooting political dissidents in the capital but it there any doubt that the liberal regime in the US "crushes human dignity"? But certainly, the materialistic, atheistic liberalism dominant in the US and Europe is fair game for criticism. No?
Lastly, where is Pope Francis on this? His occasional statements have been weak and ineffective. Now is the time for leadership, before it is too late.
This is a great interview, thank you so much.
Thank you for this interview. I am an American, of Ukrainian heritage, and a lifelong member of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Archbishop Gudziak is my bishop. Please pray for Ukraine and its people. Pray for peace and that Ukraine may continue to craft its own just, independent, sovereign nation without Russian interference. Pray that the leaders of Ukraine’s allies have the courage, wisdom and fortitude to boldly and firmly put an end to Russia’s attempts to control Ukraine and its sovereign territory.
I really appreciated your question around critiques of liberalism vs. confronting the immediate Russian violence. I'm a fan of some prominent critics of liberalism and I've been conflicted over some of their responses to the crisis. I'm glad to hear the Archeparch say there are "profound cultural problems in Western democracies". There are problems that liberalism is absolutely implicated in. And to some degree, I do worry that Ukrainians', or any other peoples', longing gaze toward Western Europe will ultimately result in more insidious social ills later on. But still, it's off-putting when liberalism skeptics fight people who don't like what Russia's doing as opposed meaningfully putting forth an argument that "we don't like liberalism, but our vision of it is also not Vladimir Putin's illberalism."