- Archbishop Borys Gudziak is the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States.
- Speaking to the Catholic News Agency, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "sociopath."
- He urged Americans to pray for Ukraine and "call out" those who are "enchanted by President Putin."
The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States warns that Russia's invasion could end with his religious tradition being erased from the map.
Speaking to the Catholic News Agency on Thursday, Archbishop Borys Gudziak urged Americans to pray for Ukraine, but added that they should not stop there.
"They can be critically informed and call out people like Tucker Carlson and others who are enchanted by President Putin," Gudziak said.
Carlson, a prime-time personality on Fox News, has used his television platform to attack Ukraine, falsely claiming it is "not a democracy," and to dismiss criticisms of Putin.
"Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist?" Carlson asked in a recent broadcast. "Is he trying to snuff out Christianity?"
He also defended Russia's stated concerns about Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance, despite Putin himself stating that he simply does not believe Ukraine has a right to exist as an sovereign nation. Indeed, current tensions, dating back to at least 2013, were not about NATO but Ukraine seeking closer trade relations with Europe.
It's been a long-held position for Carlson. In 2019, he said that — in the event of a war — "I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine. That is my view." Some 48 hours into the actual war, however, he did concede that Putin "does deserve to be punished" for invading.
Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump, has likewise attacked Ukraine, recently stating that it is "not even a country" but rather a place "the Clintons have turned into a colony where they can steal money" — a view echoed by others on the right, including Trump, who as president pushed a conspiracy theory that Ukraine's political elites conspired with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
Gudziak — whose church has more than 200 parishes catering to the Ukrainian diaspora across the US — told the Catholic News Agency that he has had to spend a lot of time since Russia's invasion challenging such falsehoods, saying there is "still a lot of disinformation and ignorance around what is going on in Ukraine and why it is being attacked."
Gudziak said he was particularly concerned about the future of his religion under Putin, despite the Russian leader portraying himself as a defender of traditional values, a fact that has enhanced his appeal with right-wing elements abroad. Under previous Russian empires, "the Ukrainian Catholic Church was wiped out."
"It might be in a year or two," he said, "or it might be in 20 years or 30 years. But, sooner or later, the visible, public, existence, and ministry of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was strangled,"
In the meantime, Gudziak said he is praying — for the future of Ukraine, as well as for the soul of the man who launched a war of aggression against it.
Earlier in the week, he visited the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, the patron saint of Russian Catholics, he said.
"I went to pray there for the conversion of Vladimir Putin," Gudziak said. "I prayed that through miraculous grace the Lord touch the heart of a man that is a sociopath, who's killing, and who's leading his own country and neighbors into an abyss."
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: [email protected]