'You speak with a heart' for human dignity, archbishop tells Ukraine's Zelenskyy

(OSV News) -- The head of Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S. told OSV News he personally thanked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for speaking "with a heart" and being "a source of encouragement" worldwide.

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia was among several Ukrainian American leaders who met with Zelenskyy in New York Sept. 23.

Zelenskyy arrived in the U.S. Sept. 22 for a five-day tour that included stops at a Scranton, Pennsylvania, munitions factory, United Nations headquarters in New York and the White House.

During the visit, Zelenskyy presented his "Victory Plan" to the U.N., President Joe Biden and U.S. presidential hopefuls Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
"I want peace for my people -- real and just peace," Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 25.

Ukraine is now approaching the 11th year of Russian aggression, which began in 2014 with Russia's invasion of Crimea and Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and which has been declared a genocide in two joint reports from the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights.

As of Sept. 27, Ukraine has documented 140,518 war crimes by Russian forces, with at least 11,520 killed, 570 of them children. The International Criminal Court has issued six arrest warrants for Russian officials for war crimes in relation to the invasion, including one for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Archbishop Gudziak -- whom OSV News accompanied on a Sept. 2-12 pastoral tour of Ukraine, a 1,560-mile journey that included stops within 30 miles of the front lines -- said he commended Zelenskyy for speaking "calmly about an extreme situation" while maintaining "great composure."

He recalled telling Zelenskyy that the ability to do so "for almost a thousand days without a break" since Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion was "a source of encouragement, not only for the tens of millions of your countrymen, but also for all of us who value God-given human dignity, democracy and freedom."

The archbishop said he told Zelenskyy, "You speak with a heart," noting the president's hundreds of encounters with soldiers and grieving military families.

Such meetings were not a "formality," but "heartfelt," said Archbishop Gudziak.

He also recalled advising Zelenskky, "We encourage you to protect your heart, because at a time of danger, the natural human tendency is to close in.

"Being large-hearted and having a broad vision is so crucial in leadership," the archbishop added.

At the same time, "in recognizing all of your qualities, I assure you that I'm not initiating your canonization," Archbishop Gudziak said he told Zelenskyy, prompting him and those present to laugh.

"Know that your stand and the stand of the soldiers and citizens of Ukraine is profoundly appreciated in the United States and especially among American Catholics," said Archbishop Gudziak.

In 2023, Zelenskyy conferred Ukraine's Cross of Ivan Mazepa on the archbishop during a visit to Washington. The award honors individuals who have made significant personal contributions to supporting the sovereignty and global awareness of Ukraine.