Opposition Group to Ask Pope to Raise Human Rights Issue with Kuchma

The committee's list of grievances they would like the pope to address when meeting with Kuchma includes the murder and persecution of journalists and opposition members. "The Pope of Rome is a moral arbitrator to the western part of the world," Ukraine without Kuchma action coordinator Yury Lutsenko said.

"For this reason, we have to bring to his notice the Ukrainian authorities' anti-Christian stance." The opposition's address will also mention the names of incarcerated ultra-nationalist UNA-UNSO members, three of whom are Ukrainian Greek Catholic. The Pope is scheduled to visit Ukraine later this month.