CWN - The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church condemned a police crackdown on anti-government protestors in western Ukraine.

The protestors are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, an ally of Moscow.

“We condemn the violence used by the law enforcement officers to civilians,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, according to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine. “We must not respond with violence to violence.”

“I want to express my solidarity with the youth and with our citizens who are not indifferent to the fate of the country and who are actively displaying their positions,” the prelate had said earlier. “We see that hundreds of thousands of people in various cities and towns in Ukraine and the world took to the streets.”

The prelate’s predecessor, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, also praised the protestors; he said, according to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, that “the government has driven us over the edge. The nation feels this very, very strongly, is fired up – the people have been mobilized to support their fundamental interests, to support their freedom.”