Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church confirms communion
with Rome: "what no totalitarian regime could break"
(Vatican Radio) On Saturday
Pope Francis met with leaders of the Permanent Synod of the Greek-Catholic
Ukrainian Church. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevhchuk affirmed communion
with the Catholic Church despite a century of persecution inflicted by
totalitarian regimes. Suffering in Ukraine included wars, genocides, a
state-planned famine, and ethnic cleansing, all claiming some 15 million lives.
Suffering continues in Ukraine for which the Permanent Synod seeks the Holy Father's
support. The statement of the Permanent Synod is reproduced below in full:
As Pastors We Speak Out on
Behalf of Our People
Before the Holy Father and
Before the World:
“Pope Francis heard us.”
“We came to reaffirm our
communion with the Holy Father and to ask for his help for the suffering people
of Ukraine during the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” stated His Beatitude Sviatoslav
Shevhchuk. “And the Holy Father heard us.”
In Rome on the eve of the 70th anniversary
of the Lviv pseudo-synod the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
(UGCC), His Beatitude Major Archbishop Sviatoslav, and the members of the
Permanent Synod came to Rome to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. “We reaffirm
what no totalitarian regime could break: our communion with Rome and the
Universal Church,” His Beatitude said.
The Head of the UGCC and the
Permanent Synod conducted meetings, discussions with representatives of the
Holy See, and prepared a public statement denouncing the invasion and hybrid
war in Ukraine and decrying the suffering of millions of innocent men, women
and children. The Church condemns the atrocities, the kidnappings, imprisonment
and torture of citizens of Ukraine in the Donbas and Crimea—especially abuses directed
at religious communities and ethnic groups, especially Muslim Tatars, as well
as broad violations of civic rights and the human dignity of millions.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church ceaselessly prays for and promotes peace, and today its leadership
appealed to the Holy Father and to the world to help stop the war and stem the
humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The
ongoing undeclared hybrid war—today marginalized in the world’s attention—has
directly affected 5 million people. It has caused 10,000 deaths, tens of
thousands of crippling injuries, and rendered homeless over two million people.
Insidious means of hybrid warfare have brought post-traumatic shock upon
hundreds of thousands and caused immense socio-economic damage. Much of the
country’s industrial infrastructure has been obliterated and its currency has
lost two-thirds of its value impoverishing the entire population of 45 million.
Ukrainians’ identity is relentlessly denigrated by a sophisticated and well-funded
international propaganda campaign. “The people are suffering, Holy Father, and
they await your embrace,” His Beatitude said. “Pope Francis made it clear that
he would act.”
The twentieth century was a
time of untold suffering for Ukraine. Two World Wars, genocides, a
state-planned famine, and ethnic cleansing caused some 15 million deaths. The
UGCC, a Church which historically stood in solidarity with its people and their
suffering was brutally suppressed by Stalin. The Soviets sought to separate it
from the Catholic communion, especially from the Bishop of Rome. Stalin’s
regime outlawed the UGCC, making it the world’s largest banned Church, through
a violent and manipulative non-canonical action called by historians the
“Pseudo-synod of Lviv” held 8-10 March 1946. The Soviet authorities imprisoned
all of the bishops, hundreds of clergy and tens of thousands of faithful and
transferred all Ukrainian Greek Catholic property to the Orthodox Church of the
Moscow Patriarchate or confiscated it for secular purposes.
But the Church has revived
miraculously and is a thriving, dynamic body active throughout Ukraine and on
four continents, with young clergy and a dedicated laity inspired by the
example of their twentieth century martyrs.
“For Ukrainians who belong to
different Churches and religious organizations and even secular citizens, the
Holy Father is a global moral authority who speaks the truth. This voice of
truth is particularly important for the suffering people of Ukraine. If the
people do not hear or understand this voice they become confused, anxious, and
feel forgotten,” His Beatitude said to Pope Francis. “The Holy Father
emphasized that one cannot solve ecumenical problems at the expense of an
entire Eastern Catholic Church.”
“The UGCC stands ready to
provide responsible, transparent, ecumenically sound administration of
international aid, serving the Ukrainian population without regard to
ethnicity, political or linguistic preferences or religious affiliation. We are
ready to cooperate in a well-coordinated plan that includes governmental and
non-governmental bodies. Enough of this suffering. It can be prevented. It can
be healed. Let us make the 'Year of Mercy' a reality for the people of
Ukraine,” said His Beatitude.
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