One Million Attend As Pope Beatifies Ukraine Martyrs

LVIV, Jun 27, 01 (CWNews.com) - An estimated 1 million people braved the rain to attend a Wednesday morning ceremony in Lviv at which Pope John Paul II beatified 28 Ukrainian martyrs.

The Holy Father praised the "sons and daughters of the glorious Church of Lviv" who were" tested in many ways by proponents of the infamous Nazi and Communist ideologies," and finally "were killed out of hatred for the Christian faith." He exhorted today's Catholics to be equally dedicated to the Gospel and to uphold the cause of Christian unity.

The Pope's homily offered special encouragement to the Byzantine- rite Ukrainian Catholic Church, to which most Ukrainian Catholics belong. He emphasized the rich history of Eastern Christianity in Ukraine, and encouraged the Byzantine Catholics to live up to the ideals set by their forefathers-- including the martyrs, all of them Eastern Catholics. (In a separate ceremony on Tuesday, the Pope had beatified two martyrs of the Latin-rite Church in Ukraine.)

At the beginning of the ceremony, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar-- the Major Archbishop of Lviv and head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church- - had followed the Pope's lead by asking forgiveness for offenses committed by members of his Byzantine community in the past. While honoring the martyrs, he said, Ukrainian Catholics should call to mind "the sad moments and spiritual tragedies in which sons and daughters of our Church deliberately harmed their neighbors and countrymen." For these offenses, the cardinal said, "we ask pardon."

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update
27. juni 2001