During his speech at the memorial service for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral in Lutsk, Komorowski called for appeasement that should be based on truth and stressed out that the Poles and Ukrainians should lift the burden of truth and head to the difficult forgiveness. He also said that nationalism ruined Ukraine-Poland relations in the difficult 20th century when both nations needed mutual support the most.
Konstiantyn Hryshchenko who was also present at the service recalled the Communist ideology as an obstacle to an open dialogue about the Volyn tragedy in earlier years. He said that historical truth is important but it should not be politicized. “As a sign of appeasement and readiness to build common European future, we bow our heads today in memory of the fratricide conflict and say our prayers for them,” he said.
When Komorowski talked to the congregation after the service, a young man approached and broke an egg on his shoulder. When journalists asked him for a comment on this during his visit to Kysylyn, a village in Lokachynsky County, Volyn Oblast, where the Poles were shot in a cathedral in 1943, he said that “there was nothing to comment on”.
On Sunday, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the Volyn tragedy during the afternoon service at Castel Gandolfo. He stressed out that he prayed for the souls of the victims and asked for deep appeasement of Ukrainians and Poles, peaceful future and sincere cooperation.
