Czech archbishop affirms solidarity with Ukrainian refugees

In a sign of support for migrants and refugees, Catholic and Protestant leaders in the Czech Republic have jointly condemned recent remarks by the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, who criticized Ukrainians in the country and called for cutting their benefits.

Okamura, who leads the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party and became speaker in November 2025, wrote on X that “there are simply too many Ukrainians here, and the citizens are complaining.”

He accused Ukrainian refugees of taking “advantage of various benefits from the money of Czech citizens” and going “on vacation to Ukraine, from where they fled.”

The speaker warned of “putting an end to any payment of social benefits and any financial support” for Ukrainian refugees. He also criticized a demonstration in Prague during which people rolled out a long Ukrainian flag, calling it an “unnecessary provocation.”

Church reaction

“We are seriously concerned” by his remarks, reads a joint declaration signed by Archbishop Josef Nuzík, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, and Pavel Pokorný, president of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic.

“We are proud of the good name that the Czech Republic has thanks to its friendliness towards refugees. It is misleading and dangerous to question solidarity with the needy,” the declaration states.

The Christian leaders emphasized that “the ability to show sympathy and effective solidarity is one of the principles of our civilization.”

The statement warned that this “attack on a specific national group” that is “particularly vulnerable,” including “the elderly, the sick, and dependent on aid,” recalls “the unfortunate European past of similar attacks on Jews, Roma, and people with disabilities.”

“We do not want to repeat that past,” Nuzík and Pokorný declared.

The Czech Republic hosts between 370,000 and 400,000 Ukrainian refugees, one of the largest shares in Europe per capita. Okamura’s SPD party is part of the ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.