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| Ukrainian Greek Catholics are no longer linking their future with Ukraine |
| 2023-09-16 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Stanistav Stremidlovsky [REGNUM] Following the synod held in Rome from September 3 to 13, the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church made two “important decisions.” During the discussion, special attention was paid to the relations of the UGCC with the public. The reason for this decision was criticism in Ukraine and beyond the statements of Pope Francis during a video conference with Russian Catholic youth gathered in St. Petersburg. Let us recall that the pontiff called on Russian young people to remember the great Mother Russia and the great emperors Peter I and Catherine II. In Ukraine, these words were perceived as a transition to “pro-Russian positions” in the current conflict. This rebounded on the local Greek Catholics, who are under the canonical subordination of the Vatican. According to the American Catholic portal Crux, the bishops decided to develop a program for recruiting Greek Catholics who could represent the UGCC “in the outside world, becoming, in essence, its full-time diplomats.” Moreover, it is planned that they will work “ along with the diplomatic and communication efforts of the Vatican.” The second solution is also related to this. Since, as the Ukrainian conflict does not end, more and more refugees who left Ukraine abroad are settling in new places of residence, fears are growing that these people will never “return to Ukraine” again, as a result the Church will be split, and the bulk of believers will be live abroad ." Therefore, the bishops intend to intensify missionary work on church care and accompaniment of the diaspora. The new approaches outlined by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church indicate that it is ceasing to connect its future with Ukraine. As British Bishop Kenneth Novakovsky, who took part in the synod in Rome, noted, under the leadership of the head of the UGCC, Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, “we are increasingly developing our Church not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world.” The second direction is now, apparently, becoming a priority. Although at the beginning of 2022, the leadership of the Greek Catholics and Ukrainian officials affiliated with them were optimistic about the chances of establishing the UGCC as the dominant Church in Ukraine. “ It is absolutely desirable for the state to strengthen the authority, prestige and status of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ,” he stated in those days in an interview with the LB portal. Ambassador of Ukraine to the Holy See Andrey Yurash. “The UGCC is a very dynamic structure and a religious community with enormous potential (perhaps the greatest internal) in our state.” But first it was necessary to create a situation where pressure would be put on the Holy See, which actively interacts with Russia, to shift the balance in favor of accepting Kyiv’s arguments. This could not be done. Vivid disappointment in the Vatican was demonstrated in May of this year following a meeting with Pope Francis by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who stated that he did not need the mediation services of the Holy See. The last goal against the Greek Catholic goal was recently scored by Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine. In an interview with the Ukrainian Channel 24, he actually accused the Holy See of corruption, stating “the Russian Federation’s investments in the Vatican Bank (Institute of Religious Affairs - Author’s note )” and that it should be “analyzed in more detail.” Archbishop Shevchuk tried to minimize the damage to Greek Catholics from such accusations. He said that the Ukrainian ambassadors to Italy and the Holy See assured him that Podolyak’s speech was a “personal opinion.” At the same time, the head of the UGCC admitted that if earlier Pope Francis was the most respected religious leader in Ukraine, now “ his popularity has fallen to 3%, and after the misunderstanding with “Mother Russia” I cannot say how many Ukrainians today talk about their full confidence in dad." However, the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church cannot afford to intensify nationalist rhetoric, thus distancing themselves from the Holy See and its “pro-Russian” nature. As the Italian Catholic portal ACI Stampa notes, following the synod in Rome, the UGCC is expected to be “a national, but also a global Church, which must also renounce nationalism.” Of course, this will not be easy for Greek Catholics to do, even in a number of foreign countries. For example, in Poland, where Uniate parishes perceive themselves as the only instrument for preserving the national spirit in local communities facing serious Polish cultural pressure. The answer to this is seen by Greek Catholics as efforts to preserve the Ukrainian language and the Ukrainian version of shared history. In Ukraine itself, in turn, a situation may arise when the only way to preserve the Greek Catholic dioceses as a “national Church” will be their transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, from which “globalism” is not required. It is possible that such Uniates will repeat the Lvov Council of 1946, the initiators of which, as noted by political scientist Oleg Khavich, were Greek Catholic priests who relied on the desire of their parishioners to return to Orthodoxy. Speaking in October 2016 at St. Michael's College University in Canada, Archbishop Shevchuk emphasized: “We are a completely Orthodox Church, with Orthodox theology, liturgy, spirituality and canonical tradition.” Thus, the Uniates who disagree with the departure of the UGCC to the West will lose practically nothing by joining the OCU. |
| Posted by:badanov |