'They aimed at you, Mr. President, but hit us'

A bad egg cracks the relationship between Poland and Ukraine further

A man presses an egg to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski’s shoulder during his visit to Lutsk in this video screen shot. Photo credit: Zik TV.

A 21-year-old Ukrainian man broke an egg on the jacket of Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, who was in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk to honour the lives of tens of thousands of fellow Poles who were killed in World War II by Ukrainian nationalists.

The incident left Myroslav Marynovych, Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, and a former prisoner of the Gulag, with a "stirred conscience." It compelled him to write a letter of apology to the Polish president.

You came to our land as a pilgrim, who in prayer paid tribute to the victims of the fratricidal conflict. Pilgrims are to be blessed and received kindly, not offended.

You delicately crafted the political focus of your visit to fulfill your civic duty to your people and at the same time not to hurt the feelings of the Ukrainian people. For this, one must be thanked and honored, not stained.

They aimed at you, Mr. President, but hit us.

Read the full letter on the Religious Information Service of Ukraine website.