Secretary of Synod of Bishops of UGCC Comments on Issues of Ministry in Emigration
The secretary of Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh), said in an interview for Radio Vatican that one of the modern challenges for the church that unites the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) with the Universal Church in the Middle East is the problem of emigration, the Information Department of UGCC reported on October 19.
“We have a lot in common − a common faith, a common task of evangelization our people, and also common challenges in emigration. Many people emigrate from the Middle East and similarly there is a wave of emigration from Ukraine. We have common tasks and will jointly consider how it is better to execute them,” noted Bishop Bohdan, commenting on the participation of the UGCC in the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, which is taking place in the Vatican.
In the opinion of the secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, “we have to expect that the Christ’s Church by one mouth, one heart will direct its voice in the defence of the rights for our colleagues in the Middle East. But will also raise our voice to the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth so He may tend to those difficult situations, difficult events,” he said.
Bishop Bohdan also noted that the situation of the Catholic Church in the Middle East is especially clear for the UGCC: “We know from our Ukrainian experience that even oppression, persecution of the church can turn around for the better. After oppression and after persecution the church can become strengthened and cleansed. This is what we hope for, and we hope that the synod will lead to this,” underlined the bishop.
Bishop Bohdan compared his participation in the synod to a pilgrimage to the Holy Land: “I was chosen by the Holy Father to take part in this synod and I am very glad to take part in it for I have never had the chance to visit the Holy Land, to make a pilgrimage to the land of Jesus Christ. I see the participation in this synod as spiritual pilgrimage, the first personal contacts with the Holy Land by meeting with our bishop brothers.”
On October 10 to 24, 2010, a Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church was held in the Vatican. Its theme was “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness.” The following representatives of the UGCC were invited to participate in the work of the assembly: Patriarch Lubomyr, the head of UGCC, and Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh), the secretary of the Synod of Bishops of UGCC. Along with fourteen other cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests, the UGCC representatives were invited by Pope Benedict XVI.
