The new nuncio to Ukraine archbishop Claudio Gugerotti stressed in the interview to CREDO magazine the importance of good relations between the Roman and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches.
Asked what steps the new nuncio plans to carry out to improve the relationship between the Ukrainian bishops of the two rites, Archbishop Claudio said:
"I can not do too much. Bishops are well aware what the Gospel and history require of them. Nuncio is just a bridge and the Pope - the first "builder of bridges". With humility I will try to add another brick to the bridge, which is already under construction. Communion increases with holiness", stressed archbishop Gugerotti.
During the last Ad Limina visit of the UGCC and RCC bishops, Pope Francis said that they could be a little better relations.
"That’s usually a personality thing but the challenge in Ukraine is that the personalities take on the face of the Latin or the Greek Catholic Church. Maybe that’s not fair and we should be able to say – no, it is Thomas who is arguing with Gregory - but we don’t have that leisure because of who we are as Churches. So we end up by circumstance being categorized as Greeks and Latins that don’t get along. Of course there are Greeks who don’t get along with each other and same for Latins, but that’s not news
Therefore, the task of the new nuncio to improve relations between the Greek and the Roman Catholic Churches in Ukraine remains relevant.