Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission: “No peace deal should be finalized until Ukraine’s children are returned home”
“No peace deal should be finalized until Ukraine’s children are returned home,” reads in part the April 3 letter signed by ERLC President Brent Leatherwood and 39 others. “We urge you, as leaders of the free world, to ensure that Ukraine’s children are returned home without precondition in advance of peace talks. Why is President Trump so soft on Putin? “War is never a justification to harm children.” Why are so many Pastors in America silent on this evil by Putin? God knows all.
In 2012 in Ashville, NC at a Time to Revival, where he was serving, it was prophesied over Pastor Dewey Moede that he was to be a watchman on the wall. That he is. Pastor Dewey is vigilant and alert to threats. He is to warn others and to be a prayer warrior, to hold a Biblical Worldview.
President Trump said he would put an end to this war, it has not happened. Evil Putin is having his way as Russia is still attacking Ukraine and killing innocent people. Russia has kidnapped 20,000 children! Why is President Trump so soft on Putin? WHY? WHY? I am so very, very thankful for the ELRC for speaking up! Wake up America to this evil by PUTIN!!!!!!!! MY GOODNESS!
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has joined dozens of faith leaders in a letter urging the Trump administration to ensure Russia returns to Ukraine nearly 20,000 abducted children before the U.S. continues peace talks.
“No peace deal should be finalized until Ukraine’s children are returned home” reads in part the April 3 letter signed by ERLC President Brent Leatherwood and 39 others. “We urge you, as leaders of the free world, to ensure that Ukraine’s children are returned home without precondition in advance of peace talks.
“Ukraine’s children must not be used as bargaining chips in geopolitical negotiations. Their safety, dignity, and right to be reunited with their families must be non-negotiable.”
The letter addressed to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio precedes planned peace talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Washington this week, more than a month after previous talks failed in grand fashion, with Trump dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the Oval Office.
The faith leaders reference Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “forced transfer” of nearly 20,000 children, ages four months to 17 years, to Russia and Russia-controlled territories. The children, according to the letter and numerous document sources, have been subjected to political reeducation, military training and forced assimilation into Russian society. Others have been illegally adopted and had their birth certificates altered to erase their Ukrainian identities, the letter said, and many have been physically abused and denied adequate food and care.
Rick Morton, an adoptive father of Ukrainian children and vice president of engagement for Lifeline Children’s Services, is among several Lifeline leaders who signed the letter.
“As the father of three children who came to our family from Ukraine, the forced deportation of vulnerable Ukrainian children to Russia hits home in a very personal way and remains one of the most unconscionable elements of the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Morton told Baptist Press. “I am encouraged that President Trump inquired about the status of the more than 19,000 missing Ukrainian children in a recent call with President Zelensky and would hope that Secretary Rubio and General Kellogg would not fail to act on that concern as a chief condition of any peace agreement.
“War is never a justification to harm children.” More Here
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