Cardinal Lubomyr Husar to UGCC Laity Congress: Clergy Must Serve, Not Rule Over Members of Church

A Ukrainian National Congress of heads and clergy of lay communities and organizations of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was held on November 18 in Lviv. The event was initiated by representatives of the UGCC Commission for the Laity, the Information Department of the UGCC reports.

In his address to the participants of the congress, Archbishop Emeritus Lubomyr Husar said that the Second Vatican Council promulgated the Constitution on the Church “Light of the Nations.” It clearly defines the role of the laity and the duties of the clergy.

“There is one church, and it is the responsibility of the clergy to serve the people of God, not to rule over them. The duty of the clergy is to serve all members of the church,” he said.

According to the archbishop emeritus, in everyday life priests do not always adhere to these principles. Priests and bishops believe they have the right to initiate something, and the laity to humbly comply. In contrast, the Second Vatican Council says that the laity has the right to initiate the establishment of church organizations.

“Once I was lucky enough to attend a congress of lay organizations in Germany,” said the hierarch. “Then the chair of the central committee, which coordinated these 2,000 lay Catholic organizations in Germany, was a lay woman. This make me think about the role of the laity.”

The archbishop said that earlier the church meant the hierarchy, bishops, and clergy. And the role of the laity it was uncertain.

“Actually, this is clericalism when the understanding of the church is limited to the clergy,” he said. “But the church is not only priests, but all who acknowledge Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity, and are aware that they are members of God's people.”

“I think we all know that we live in the post-Soviet era and many aspects of our lives are still Soviet. The Communist Party worked very hard to ensure that people had their way of thinking. And we, the church, must set before ourselves the task of ‘clearing’ from the people the post-communist mentality. The pastors themselves cannot do this, so that is why the laity should join,” he added.