We must always be tolerant and respectful of another person. I might totally disagree with what a person says or does, but my whole behavior towards this person should be friendly towards him/her. This was stated by the Father and the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in an Easter interview with the 5th Channel.
In connection with the results of the election of the President of Ukraine, which polarized the Ukrainian society, the Primate expressed the desire that we should be tolerant of those who are near us.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav recalled the words of St. Augustine, who said that if we want to correct our neighbor, then we must first love him. And then all that we will say, do, will be nothing but the expression of our love for him. If we can not love him, it’s better to keep silent.
“Remain silent, but work for the good of the people. I think that this is a recipe for genuine tolerance,” added the Head of the UGCC.
At the same time, in his conviction, we can not be tolerant of evil, we can not be tolerant of anything that is destructive. For every evil is like weapons with slow action. We must resist evil precisely because it is harmful and dangerous. It ruins life.
“And if a person does evil, we must protect her from her own evil actions. We must help her understand what it is like to do good and choose it voluntarily and consciously. If we do this, we will respect another person, we will demonstrate tolerance for the opinion of others,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Department of Information of the UGCC