Pope Pursues Unity In Ukraine
KIEV, Jun. 25, 01 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II heavily emphasized the message of Christian unity during the first days of his visit to Ukraine, and he won a warm greeting from one of three rival leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox community.
[For a more detailed description of the Pope's visit, see today's CWN Feature coverage.]
On Saturday evening, June 23, after a private session with President Leonid Kuchma, the Pope met with the political and cultural leaders of Ukraine at a reception in the Mariyinskyj presidential palace. The Holy Father urged these influential leaders to serve the common good rather than private interests. He laid heavy stress on the importance of regaining the confidence of the people, so that they would not be tempted to emigrate.
On Sunday morning, the Pope celebrated Mass in the Latin rite for a crowd that braved a light but persistent rain at the Chayka airport outside Kiev. At the first major liturgical celebration of his visit to Ukraine, the Pope reflected in his homily on the role of St. John the Baptist, urging the faithful to follow his example. He called the people's attention to the importance of Baptism, as the sacrament that unites all Christians, and exhorted them to work toward a revival of full Christian unity.
After that Mass, the Holy Father met with the Catholic bishops of Ukraine, of both Lain and Ukrainian rites. He remarked: "Among you there are still some men who had the experience of prison and persecution. I salute you with great emotion." He went on to ask the bishops to work for Christian unity, noting that Ukraine furnishes an "ecclesial laboratory" in which the Church might discover ways of regaining full communion. He also reminded the bishops that they must guard against unhealthy developments in their society, preserving the family and the dignity of human life.
On Sunday afternoon, the Pope met with 20 other Christian leaders at the Philharmonic Palace. It was here that the Orthodox Patriarch Filaret embraced him, saying that the papal visit "shows the world that Catholics and Orthodox can live together as brothers and sisters." The Pontiff greeted each Christian leader individually, then remarked to the group that all believers must "follow the path of ecumenism with respect and courage."
On Monday morning the Pope again sounded the theme of ecumenism as he presided Mass-- celebrated this time according to the Byzantine rite-- at the Chayka airport. Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of Lviv and leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, presided at the liturgical celebration. Pope John Paul delivered the homily, remarking that "the plurality of traditions, rites and canonical disciplines" within the Catholic Church, "far from harming the unity of the Body of Christ, actually enriches the Church, through the gifts that each one brings." He also said that such diversity nourishes a missionary impulse, because: "There is no authentic evangelization without full fraternal communion."
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update
25. juni 2001