His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia wishes to congratulate the leadership and officers of the Hellenic Police Force, on the occasion of the dismantling of a criminal organisation, which committed burglaries in houses and warehouses in Attica and the Greek province, over a long period of time. Among the victims was himself, when, in December 2022, this particular organisation broke into the house of certain Greek-Australians where His Eminence was staying, passing from Athens to Mount Athos.
Archbishop Makarios of Australia also expresses his love and appreciation to the fellow-faithful Georgian people, a proud, virtuous, and pious people, and asks to avoid generalisations and leveling, unfair judgments regarding the identity and origin of the perpetrators of the specific case.
More specifically, His Eminence said: “I am happy with the success of the Hellenic Police and I congratulate their perseverance and their methods. Personally, I will not seek the punishment of those found guilty. I forgive them all and I hope that God enlightens them to learn to live with honesty and without harming their fellow human being. Regarding their origin, from Georgia, I want to note that the offense of a small group of people cannot characterise an entire people. Georgians are pious, Orthodox, faithful people, honest, hardworking and philanthropic. What happened is an exception and of course does not express the reality of their tradition and history”.
