US Republicans urge not to adopt the impending law in Ukraine banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

In the ranks of U.S. Republicans, there are calls to reject the proposed law in Ukraine banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The topic was raised by Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, who supports Republicans.

Amsterdam discussed the work on a document they will submit to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. It will address the discrimination against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and attempts to close the church.

“The document will be publicly available. It is quite extensive, and in it, we call on the U.S. government to recognize Ukraine as a country of particular concern regarding violations of religious freedom,” he said.

Amsterdam also stated that if Ukrainian authorities have suspicions regarding individual clergy members, separate criminal cases should be investigated against them. This is not a reason to ban the entire church.

“Many members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. How should they feel seeing their Church’s temples being seized? The FSB [Russian Federal Security Service] has no better agents in Ukraine than members of the Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] who are trying to pass a bill banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” Amsterdam said.

In turn, Carlson called on American lawmakers to oppose the infringements on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and to stop financing “the construction of tyranny”.

Republican Senator James David Vence also criticized actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“You cannot deprive an entire religious community of the freedom of religion,” Vence stated.

Catherine Whiteford, co-chair of the Young Republican National Federation, urged voters to contact their congressmen to inform them about the situation regarding the bill banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“The Ukrainian government has started a mistaken attack on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Seizures of temples, arbitrary arrests and attacks on believers have become commonplace. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. The fact that our allied government is banning the largest religious organization in its territory should concern Americans,” she said.