CWN - As Ukraine prepares for local elections on October 25, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, reminded priests that Church and state have a “clear division of spheres of competence.”

Priests are forbidden to speak on behalf of a “candidate, party, or political alliance,” post signs in church yards, or distribute campaign materials on church property, according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s information department.

They are permitted, however, to “encourage people to perform their social obligation in obedience to their conscience” and to utter prayers for a just election if the prayers have been approved by ecclesiastical authority.