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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Ukraine_______________
A patriarchate for Ukraine?
Report may be wishful thinking
One month before Pope John Paul II was scheduled to arrive in Ukraine, a local official involved in planning the trip said that the Holy Father might make a dramatic announcement during his stay. Teodozy Yankiva, co-chairman of the commission preparing the papal visit, told the Itar-Tass news service that the Ukrainian-rite Major Archdiocese of Lviv, currently led by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, might become a full patriarchate.
For years the faithful of the Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church have yearned for the elevation of their Church to the status of a patriarchate. Proponents of that change have pointed out that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is the largest of the Eastern churches in communion with Rome, and that Ukrainian Catholics proved their mettle (and their loyalty to the Holy See) during the ferocious persecution they suffered under Stalin.
To date, however, Rome has shown no inclination to create a patriarchate for Lviv. Such a move would be sure to damage the fragile relationships between Catholics and Ukrainian Orthodox. Orthodox leaders—already caught in a three-way battle for leadership—have frequently complained about Catholic efforts to subvert their status as the country’s traditionally dominant faith.
New complaints from Moscow
Orthodox patriarch rejects meeting with Pope
In a June 11 interview with the Italian daily Il Messaggero, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksei II renewed his sharp criticisms of the Holy See. The Russian Patriarch said the Pope’s visit to Ukraine was unwelcome because the Catholic Church has not yet answered the persistent complaints by the Moscow Patriarchate about alleged “proselytism” by Catholics in traditionally Orthodox lands.
Patriarch Aleksei said that a meeting between himself and the Roman Pontiff would be “premature” as long as Rome fails to answer his complaints. “Such a meeting should constitute not just a beginning but a confirmation: the crowning of an improvement in relations,” he said.
Questioned about the statement made by Pope John Paul during his visit to Greece, in which the Pope asked pardon for any offenses committed by Catholics against their Orthodox brothers, Patriarch Aleksei said he was not satisfied. “Acts are more important than words,” he said.
The Russian Orthodox leader went on to charge that the Catholic Church has not honored previous ecumenical commitments. “With deep regret, we must say that the agreements have remained purely on paper,” he said. He then repeated his complaint that Catholics have used pressure and force to take over parish properties from the Ukrainian Orthodox. (The properties, in virtually all cases, were originally held by Catholics, but confiscated under the Communist regime and handed over to the Orthodox.)
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the major archbishop of the Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church, rejected Aleksei’s charge. “The Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow is always repeating the same accusations, which do not match the actual situation,” he said. Reporting that Catholics have cooperated freely with the Orthodox in Ukraine, Cardinal Husar charged that the Russian Orthodox leadership opposed the papal visit for “psychological” reasons. “The obstacles they keep putting in the way are only excuses for their own intransigence,” he complained.
Tensions between Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine are complicated by divisions among the Orthodox faithful. There are three different groups contending for the right to speak for the Ukrainian Orthodox. The Moscow Patriarchate, which backs one of these groups, contends that the others are “schismatic” and should not be given equal treatment. But the competing groups are not insignificant; the Patriarchate of Kiev controls 2,000 parishes—a number roughly equivalent to the number controlled by the Ukrainian Orthodox bishops who are loyal to Moscow. The Autocephalous Church of Ukraine controls another 1,000 parishes.