“Christian communities in Victoria make an extraordinary contribution to the daily life of this state,” Cardinal Mykola Bychok told those gathered at the Victorian Christian Communities Dinner last week. Source: Ukrainian Catholic Church.
The dinner, held in the Grand Hall of the Centrepiece Conference Centre in Melbourne on May 20, brought together around 200 guests, including parliamentarians, religious leaders and representatives of various communities.
Cardinal Bychok said the contribution of Christians “is woven into the very fabric of our society, yet it is not always fully recognised or valued in public life”.
“Our churches and Christian organisations have built and continue to sustain schools and universities that educate generations; hospitals, aged‑care homes, and health services that care for the vulnerable; social‑service agencies that support families, migrants, and those in crisis; ministries that walk with the poor, the homeless, and refugees; and advocacy efforts that speak for the voiceless when no one else will,” Cardinal Bychok said.
He called on the government to acknowledge and support the work of Christian organisations.
“And so I say gently but firmly: the Government of Victoria must do more to acknowledge, support and partner with Christian communities, whose service to the common good is deep, longstanding and indispensable,” Cardinal Bychok said.
“Recognition is not a favour – it is a matter of truth and justice.”
Cardinal Bychok also dedicated particular attention to the war in Ukraine, emphasising not only the scale of human suffering but also the remarkable witness of interreligious and interdenominational unity that has emerged amid the trials of war.
“For more than four years, my homeland has endured a brutal and unjust war … Yet in the midst of this suffering, something remarkable has emerged: faith communities standing together in a unity that is not theoretical, but lived.
“The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations – a body that includes Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim leaders – is a vital forum.
“His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk has said that in Ukraine our unity is born in the trenches, in the shelters, and in the humanitarian centres where we serve side by side. This unity is a witness to the world that faith, when authentic, always moves outward – toward the other, toward the vulnerable, toward peace.”
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“Christian communities in Victoria make an extraordinary contribution to the daily life of this state,” Mykola Cardinal Bychok at the Victorian Christian Communities Dinner (Ukrainian Catholic Church Australia and New Zealand)
