UGCC accepts no money from state to remain free to criticize
"Our position is not to accept donations from official authorities for it is always fraught with a certain 'gratitude,' so to say. We want to be a free church so that donations will not stop us from saying the truth when it must be said," the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Lubomyr, said in his traditional Christmas interview to Channel 5.
The patriarch was asked about the progress of the construction of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv and about his attitude toward the denominations that receive allocations for construction needs directly from the state budget, reported the State Department of Information of UGCC.
"When a certain state institution or authority supports a church initiative, whatever it may be, whether construction or something else, it, undoubtedly, involves a certain obligation. Perhaps to be silent about something, or to overlook something, in other words, it restricts the church's freedom. It is a very dangerous thing. In order to be itself, the church must be free enough to be able to tell its faithful and all the others about things when necessary," said the head of the UGCC.
According to Patriarch Lubomyr, now, when the process of construction of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv approaches completion, people readily donate for the cathedral. "For instance, recently, we have received financial support from our faithful in distant Australia. Each hryvnia, each dollar, each euro or any other currency helps," noted the head of the UGCC.
