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Cardinal And Orthodox Metropolitan On Greek Catholic Patriarchate

03.12.2002, 16:31
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), and Metropolitan Kiril of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), head of the Department of External Religious Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, recently expressed their views, pro and con, on the creation of a UGCC patriarchate in Ukraine. This news was reported by CWNews on 27 November and 2 December 2002.

Metropolitan Kiril, in an interview for the information agency KNA, said that the creation of a Greek Catholic patriarchate in Ukraine could seriously aggravate relations between the Vatican and the ROC. According to Metropolitan Kiril, this would constitute an affront to what he referred to as the already existing Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarchate in Kyiv. "The creation of such a patriarchate-- may God forbid it-- would mean that the Catholic Church was installing a patriarchate where one already exists," he commented. RISU notes, however, that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate is not a patriarchate. It only has the status of a metropolitanate. The Russian Orthodox metropolitan stated that relations between Moscow and Rome could improve if Pope John Paul II and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II meet directly. If such a meeting takes place, Metropolitan Kiril said, "I think we could untangle that knots [sic] that unfortunately have bound us." In addition, he also enumerated other conditions indispensable for a meeting between the Pope and the Moscow patriarch. Among these are the cessation of Catholic “proselytism” on traditionally Orthodox territories and the halt of the Vatican’s promotion of the Eastern Catholic churches. Metropolitan Kiril said if these conditions are satisfied, a meeting between Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Alexis II would "put an end to a difficult episode in our relations, and allow us to turn a new page of history. “ During his stay in Rome, Cardinal Husar, in an interview published by the Italian magazine “Famiglia Cristiana” (“The Christian Family”) on 1 December 2002, objected to the right, monopolized by the Moscow Patriarchate, to speak on behalf of all Russians and other nations of the former Soviet Union. “No one should doubt that we are good Ukrainians,” said the cardinal about his faithful. He stressed that there are four million Greek Catholics in Ukraine, all devoted to their country and their faith. Cardinal Husar also spoke out against the notion that "to be a good Russian, one must be Orthodox." In addition, Cardinal Husar also charged that the Moscow Patriarchate is attempting to eliminate "anything that could be an obstacle to the political and religious reunification of Ukraine with Russia." According to the cardinal, Russia cannot consider herself a great power without incorporating Ukraine, and similarly the Russian Orthodox Church feels it necessary to exercise control over the religious life of Ukraine. The interests of the Russian Orthodox Church are indeed serious, the cardinal continued. He pointed out that of the 19,000 Orthodox parishes under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, nearly half, 9 thousand, are located on Ukrainian territory. Source: www.cwnews.com