Cardinal Husar Comments On Patriarch Alexis II’s Possible Visit To Ukraine

“The UGCC recognizes and respects the right of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, in particular the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate, to invite and receive those whom they consider their spiritual authorities. Recalling the experience of last year’s visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine at the invitation of the Catholic faithful, one can anticipate positive consequences from such a pastoral visit for the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate and for society as a whole. “The historic circumstances of the past decades, and even centuries, have been so ordered that Orthodox and Catholics of the Byzantine tradition who call themselves Greek Catholics live side by side on both the territory of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This situation can be analyzed in various ways, but we as Christians must strive to recognize within this situation God’s Providence, which always leads to our good and benefit. We must also keep in mind that it is clear that the will of Christ is ‘that all be one.’ Justified, and all the more, unjustified, continually repeated mutual accusations do not create an atmosphere conducive to peaceful dialogue, without which understanding and reunion are impossible. We act on the basis of stereotypes, which having taken on the quality of absolutes, and having become an unbreakable wall, could divide us forever. “Usually the road to unity is very long, but perhaps the time has come for us to take the first steps on that road. The leaders of those Churches which are the heirs of Volodymyr’s Baptism have in a particular way a pastoral responsibility which calls us to risk taking those steps which could lead to the radical improvement of relations between our faithful. In the 1980s, my predecessor of blessed memory, Myroslav-Ivan Lubachivsky, had stated our Church’s readiness for a first step of mutual understanding and forgiveness. And today, Greek Catholics express the same readiness. “Therefore, if the Patriarch of Moscow does visit Ukraine, I will be happy to receive him as a distinguished guest: in order to move from stalemate to resolution of an entire list of issues regarding our mutual relations: the peaceful coexistence of Greek Catholics and Orthodox in the contemporary circumstances of Ukraine; an appraisal of the Lviv pseudo-synod of 1946; the resolution of church property issues; as well as the situation of Ukrainian Greek Catholics living on the territory of the Russian Federation, since we would like to ensure that they be able to enjoy the same rights as all the faithful, both Catholic and Orthodox, enjoy in Ukraine. “We are also not indifferent to the situation that exists in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Although we have no desire to interfere in matters not our own, nevertheless the problem of mutual conflicts between Christians, particularly our fellow citizens, cannot be a matter that is completely foreign to us. We sincerely hope that the visit of the Moscow Patriarch to Ukraine will be instrumental in mending specific evangelical relations between the three branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. “We would like to view the visit of Patriarch Alexis II – the spiritual leader of a large number of our Orthodox brothers – with the eyes of Christian believers and appraise his visit in that same context of Christian belief; with the hope that this visit will be, as it were, a down payment toward improved relations between the faithful of various denominations and will facilitate the strengthening of Christian and civic peace and international understanding.” Source: www.ugcc.org.ua