Growth of crime in Ukraine is the result of the decline of spirituality and morality of citizens, – UOC representative

Each offense starts with breaking God's commandments and foments as sin gets deep-rooted. This was said by the head of the Synodal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for pastoral care of the penitentiary system, Archpriest Viktor Yatsenko, reports UNIAN.

Commenting on the growth of crime in Ukraine, the priest noted that this is an inevitable result of the general decline of spirituality and morality of its citizens. But, in his opinion, this is not the only factor that affects the crime situation in the country. "Most people now cannot fully support themselves and their families, small business is massively closing down its activity, unemployment rate is increasing, a huge number of economic immigrants are going to major cities in order to get a better-paid job. Against this background, a morally weak part of society is tempted to profit at the expense of others," said Archpriest Viktor Yatsenko.

The head of the Synodal Department of the UOC drew attention to the alarming statistics of thefts, robberies and assaults in Ukraine, but the Church cannot directly affect this situation." As a rule, flat thieves, swindlers, and other antisocial elements, rarely go to church. And if they attend it, they often do it on order with the purpose to ask for something or to steal. And the only way for the priest to see them is places of imprisonment, where these people think about their future life and fate. Here it is possible to reach them," said Archpriest Viktor Yatsenko.

He reminded that the Church is not to eradicate crime but to prevent crime. It is the state’s duty to combat the social evil of crime. "The mission of the Church is to care for the soul and salvation of the man. And its indirect task is preventive work with potential criminals, people willing to break the law. Because criminal offense is always preceded by the violation of the God’s commandments and rooting in a sinful state," said the head of the Synodal Department of the UOC.

According to him, the person who often commits sins related to the infringement of other people's property, disrespecting the rights of others, unable to get out of a conflict situation peacefully, ignores the basic rule of spiritual security, whereby a small sin, left unattended, is likely to be followed by a great moral fall.

As reported, according to the first deputy-head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on legislative support of law enforcement Nikolai Palamarchuk, the number of criminal offences since the beginning of 2016 has grown by 26.9% compared to the same period last year.