As America marks 250 years, Ukrainian Catholic bishops offer a lesson in what freedom costs

(OSV News) — As America’s 250th anniversary was celebrated across the States and the world, with Pope Leo XIV accepting the Liberty Medal for the occasion, U.S. Ukrainian Catholic bishops asked Americans to consider the meaning of freedom through the experience of a nation still fighting to preserve it.

The Ukrainian prelates’ pastoral letter, “On Dignity and Freedom,” connects the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence with Ukraine’s ongoing struggle against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The letter argues that freedom is not simply a historical inheritance but a responsibility carried by every generation.

“As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence, we, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops of the United States, offer these reflections on America’s founding ideals, on the Ukrainian community that has been part of this nation’s story for seven score years, and on the responsibility of each generation of Americans, including the present one, to safeguard and renew the freedoms with which it has been entrusted,” the bishops wrote.

The letter was signed by Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia; Bishop Paul P. Chomnycky of the Eparchy of Stamford, Connecticut; Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of the St. Nicholas Eparchy in Chicago; and Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo of the St. Josaphat Eparchy in Parma, Ohio.

While attending the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, Archbishop Gudziak told OSV News that the pastoral letter was issued at a moment when the meaning of freedom itself is being tested.

“American society and democracy has been shaken in recent years by internal division,” he said. “It is incumbent on all Americans to focus on the need to foster the disciplines of democracy. Trust, love, and responsibility are at the heart of the democratic enterprise.”

“Freedom is not free,” Archbishop Gudziak told OSV News. “The wages of the defense of freedom and dignity are often high. Throughout history Americans have paid this price. Today Ukrainians are paying for it.” He added that solidarity with Ukraine remains essential. “Americans have generously supported Ukraine’s struggle and hopefully will continue to do so,” he told OSV News.

The bishops presented freedom as inseparable from human dignity, writing that the American founding vision rests on the belief that every person possesses rights that come not from governments — but from God. “From its beginning, the American experiment has rested on the belief that every person possesses certain inalienable qualities and rights simply because he or she is a human willed into being by God,” they write.

But the letter’s message is not only about America’s past. It points to Ukraine as a contemporary witness to the same principles.

“Today, Ukraine is making the same declaration,” the bishops wrote. “Ukrainians are not fighting for territory alone. They are fighting for the same truths that the Founders called self-evident: that human beings are created equal, that their rights come from God and not from governments, and that no empire has the authority to extinguish them.”

The timing of the letter carries particular weight. It was released as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to bring destruction to Ukrainian cities, including daily major attacks on Kyiv in early July.

In his weekly address July 5, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that July 2 attack “was particularly devastating,” emphasizing that residential areas of Kyiv were targeted with cluster munitions.

“Cluster munitions are prohibited under international humanitarian law. Yet they were used against the residents of Kyiv,” Major Archbishop Shevchuk said, adding that according to information available at the time of his address, about 30 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded.

“We embrace the wounded with our care and pray for the eternal rest of the innocent victims — women, the elderly, children, all those who were taken from their families, from the family of our Church, and from our people during that night,” Major Archbishop Shevchuk said.

Reuters news agency reported that the July 2 attack involved hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles and was among the deadliest Russian strikes on Kyiv in 2026 so far.

Archbishop Gudziak said Catholics should respond to Ukraine’s suffering not only with concern but with action. “I ask Catholics for three things: to pray for the victory of God’s will, to advocate for those who are defending freedom and God-given dignity in Ukraine, and to help in any way they can regarding the humanitarian and defense needs,” he told OSV News.

The letter also recalled the history of Ukrainian immigrants in the United States, describing generations of Ukrainians who arrived with hopes of building a new life while contributing to their adopted country.

“They did not come with outstretched hands,” the bishops wrote. “Their hands were calloused, ready to work.”

The pastoral letter concluded by calling Americans to not only remember the founding ideals of the nation but to renew them through civic responsibility, solidarity and care for others.

“What we still hold to be true is this: dignity and liberty are not self-sustaining,” the bishops wrote. “They must be cared for and protected.”

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