You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i..._Images_News_Getty_Images_CNA_2_20_15.jpgRome, Italy, Feb 20, 2015 / 03:32 pm (CNA).- After meeting with Pope Francis during their ad limina visit to Rome, one of Ukraine’s bishops said the country faces a humanitarian crisis in conflict areas and called for dialogue and prayers for peace.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/Oa3rthOXKwc
Full article…
Code:
“We need support…we now have this conflict, but I think we will have (a) humanitarian catastrophe, because people at that place don't have enough to eat or drink and we need help,” Venedykt Aleksiychuk, Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv, told CNA Feb. 20.
Although his diocese lies roughly 600 miles from Donetsk and Luhansk, the areas affected by fighting, the bishop called on Western countries to step in and offer support.
German chancellor Angela Merkel, who helped to negotiate the latest cease-fire agreement between Ukrainian government forces and Pro-Russian separatists, is set to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican tomorrow.
“It’s so difficult in this difficult situation to find the best solution. I think we need to speak, discuss and meet together,” Bishop Aleksiychuk said. He pointed out, however, that the willingness to do so must come from all sides.
“We need to pray and meet together and we will find this solution,” he said.
The Ukrainian bishops' ad limina, during which residential diocesan bishops and certain prelates with territorial jurisdiction meet with the Pope and report on the state of their dioceses or prelature, falls during a fragile cease-fire agreement between Ukrainian and pro-Russian troops.
On Feb. 12 officials from Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia gathered in Minsk to negotiate an indefinite cease-fire in Ukraine, which was set to begin at midnight Feb. 15.
However, shelling in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk has continued, with a recent bombardment forcing some 2,500 government troops to retreat from Debaltseve Wednesday, with others surrendering, BBC News reported.
In the written address handed to the bishops during their Feb. 20 audience with him this morning, Pope Francis recognized that Ukraine is in the midst of a “grave conflict,” and assured the bishops of his closeness.
He prayed that all parties involved would “apply the agreements reached by mutual accord and might be respectful toward the principle of international legality; in particular, that the recently signed truce might be observed.”
Bishop Aleksiychuk referred to a Feb. 19 prayer vigil held last night in the Roman Basilica of St. Mary Major, during which Ukrainian bishops of the Latin and Eastern rites joined together to pray for peace.
“Ukraine needs this peace, because when we have peace in our lives everything goes in a good way. When we don’t have peace in our life we have problems,” he said.
In the bishop’s view, the problem is not so much one of territory as of fear. Russia, he said, “doesn’t need our territory, it’s big, it’s the biggest country, but Russia, especially the Russian government, they are afraid of this change that has happened in Ukraine.”
“They think this change is coming to Russia, (so) they are afraid of this situation and they have that aggression now…we need to pray and we need this peace for Ukraine and for Russia too.”
Exactly one year ago Ukraine's former president was ousted following months of violent protest, which resulted in the death of nearly 100 civilians in Kiev’s Maiden Square.
A new government was then appointed. In March, Ukraine's eastern peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia and pro-Russian separatist rebels have since taken control of eastern portions of Ukraine, around Donetsk and Luhansk, where fighting has continued to claim lives.
The death toll in Ukraine now exceeds 5,400 people, plus more than 12,900 others who have been wounded since fighting broke out in April. More than 970,000 have been internally displaced.
In the free discussion that took place between the Pope and the bishops during their morning encounter, Pope Francis was attentive to the situation and displayed a paternal concern for each one present and their particular challenges, Bishop Aleksiychuk said.
“He spoke to us, he asked about our situation in the Ukraine. He’s like a father with his children.”
It has become custom for Pope Francis in ad limina visits, rather than reading his prepared text, to hand it to the bishops to read on their own and to speak freely with them – giving each the opportunity to voice questions or concerns that are close to them and their dioceses.
Bishop Aleksiychuk recalled how he first met the Pope two years ago, but that today's brief personal encounter felt “like I met him yesterday or a few days ago. He was open and friendly to everybody. It’s very important for the Pope and for us too.”
In the written remarks handed out to the bishops, Francis assured them of the Holy See's support even within international forums to ensure that their rights, concerns and “just evangelical values” are clearly understood.
He called to mind the country's ecclesial diversity, and encouraged the bishops of the various Catholic rites to strengthen their relationship as “brothers in the episcopate.”
“Unity of the episcopate, as well as giving good witness to the People of God, renders an inestimable service to the Nation, both on the cultural and social plane and, above all, on the spiritual plane,” he said.
“Both as Greek-Catholics and as Latins you are sons of the Catholic Church, which in your land too was for a long time subject to martyrdom,” Francis added. Greek Catholics especially faced severe persecution while the Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.
“The blood of your witnesses, who intercede for you from heaven, is a further motive that urges you to true communion of hearts,” the Pope said, encouraging bishops to unite in support of one another.
Pope Francis' written address closed with both a plea not to forget the poor, and a prayer entrusting the Ukrainian people to the intercession of Mary and the martyrs.http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/Oa3rthOXKwc
Full article…
R
RISUNews
Guest
On the anniversary of the tragic shooting of peaceful protesters of the Revolution of Dignity on Maidan (Independence Square) Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine blessed to perform in all churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the memorial service in memory of fallen heroes of the Heavenâ??s Hundred on Friday, February 20, 2015.
More…
More…
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/size340/Ukraine_Credit_Sofia_Kochmar_CNA_1.jpgKyiv, Ukraine, Feb 24, 2015 / 05:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Conflict in eastern Ukraine which began in April 2014 has pitted the country’s government against separatists widely believed to be backed by Russia, and some are attributing the chaos to a failed evangelization in the country.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/L3_cMIR9wdg
Full article…
Code:
Fr. Wojciech Surówka, a Dominican priest who directs the St. Thomas Aquinas Institute of Religious Sciences in Kyiv, urged that “a dialogue of reconciliation between Ukrainians and Russians should begin from the Church. If we do not start it, politicians will never do it. It would be nice if the formula of 'forgive and ask forgiveness' were delivered simultaneously by the Ukrainian and Russian bishops.”
“This war is the failure of our evangelization. If Christians on both sides kill each other, then we did not teach them well who Christ is. They absolutely do not understand the essence of Christianity. It's our fault. In the conflict in Rwanda last century, the bishops recognized it – I expect this step from the confessions in Ukraine,” Fr. Surówka told CNA.
According to the estimates of the United Nations, the conflict has led to more than 1 million displaced persons in Ukraine, and nearly 6,000 dead.
Some of the victims are civilians, uninvolved in military conflict, killed when pro-Russian militants fired on residential areas in Mariupol and Kramatorsk, hitting a bus stop, and a hospital. It is difficult to check the number of prisoners on both sides. On Sunday, during a memorial service for the victims of the Maidan protests, explosives fell in Kharkov, in central Ukraine, far from the conflict zone, killing two and wounding 10.
The fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists – widely believed to be supported by Russian troops and arms – and the Ukrainian government last April. The month before, Russia had annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
In areas controlled by the separatists, such as Donetsk and Luhansk, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church allied with the Russian Orthodox Church is favored, to the exclusion of other Christian groups.
Mykhailo Cherenkov grew up in Donetsk, and was born into a family of Baptists: his father is Russian, and his mother Ukrainian. After his education at a local university, he served as rector of Donetsk Christian University, a Protestant institution. Now his university is a pro-Russian military base, home to around 400 militants.
Mykhailo lives in Kyiv now.
"In December I went to Donetsk. I couldn’t get into my university. There is too much military security. The place has become hostile,” he said.
In the territories controlled by separatists, the only “legitimate” Christian body is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Other Churches and ecclesial communities do not have the possibility of holding services.
"Protestant pastors should either go underground or leave Donbas. Churches and schools, all infrastructure are confiscated. They can continue to pray - but not participate in public life,” the former rector of Donetsk Christian University explained to CNA.
Roman Catholic priests of Polish citizenship were forced to leave Donbas; the Polish government evacuated them, along with its other civilians there. Now parishioners in Luhansk watch their priest say Mass via Skype: he is in Poland, and they are in the conflict zone. In Donetsk one Roman Catholic priest has remained, as he has local residency. The rest of the priests are serving in the territories controlled by Ukrainian authorities. In Donetsk, a Grad rocket system damaged the chapel of the Roman Catholic Church.
Bishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Vladimir the Great of Paris told CNA that “since July, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop has been forced out of his seat. He is still in his diocese, in an unoccupied area, but his residence, chancery, and all documents are under the control of terrorists. Most of the clergy have been forced out of the occupied territories. A number of Roman and Greek Catholic priests were abducted. Those that remain are under constant, direct and indirect threat.”
Last summer, the Greek Catholic priest Fr. Tikhon Kulbacka was held for 10 days by the “Russian Orthodox Army” – a radical militant group active in Donbas, and which uses “Orthodox ideology.”
Cherenkov – the Baptist from Donetsk – commented that “the Russian Orthodox Army can be as dangerous as the Islamic State, because they are using tools of terror in the name of Orthodoxy!”
But in the central office of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), they denied any relation to this group.
"If a person takes up weapons and goes to kill in the name of Jesus Christ, it is schizophrenia, but not Christianity. These groups have nothing to do with the Orthodox Church,” Fr. Mykola Danylevych, assistant director of the UOC's external relations office, told CNA.
“They use these pseudo-Orthodox slogans to create an ideology for their quasi-states. But in reality they just use the Church, not having anything in common with it.”
Bishop Gudziak, who is head of external relations for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that “in the short term, the fact that the Moscow Patriarchate has acted as an apologist for the Russian annexation of Crimea and Putin’s invasion in Eastern Ukraine does not go well for ecumenism.”
“What is more serious for Moscow Patriarchate,” he continued, “is the fact that its leadership, which has not only failed to speak out critically against government policy, has acted as apologist and ideologue for the rise of aggressive Russian nationalism. This leadership has been losing credibility in Russia itself. The Russian Orthodox Church is heavily subsidized by the Russian government. The price of these subsidies is silence before their president’s warmongering and aggressive ideology. Today the population of Russia is being hypnotized into a trance of aggression. Unfortunately, the Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t speak out against propaganda, and often acts as an agent of it.”
In addition to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), there are two other Orthodox Churches which have claimed autocephaly, but are not recognized by other Orthodox Churches: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Fr. Danylevych, of the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate), said: "If we will try to proclaim autocephaly today, it will lead us to new division. Unfortunately, the conflict in the Donbas has only increased among men those dividing lines that already existed. We, as a Church, feel very much these identities of Ukraine: Ukrainian and Russian, eastern and western. We try to keep a balance between these two. Ideologies separate us, but in Christ we are united.”
“Therefore, if a person recognizes his God and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Orthodox Church as the Church - this is our man. We need to learn to live in a Church, despite the personal ideological differences,” Fr. Danylevych said, describing his Church.
Cherenkov stated that “the Church should keep unity, without sacrificing morality: those who came with weapons onto the territory of their brother, became enemies. It is useless to forgive someone who has not passed through repentance. Our unity is not broken when we do not communicate, but when we lie to each other. The issue of Christian unity is not to pretend that between us nothing happened, but to look for reasons why it happened, and honestly recognize them. To recognize aggression - it's not politics; it is elementary Christian ethics, because in this way we get up in defense against inhumane acts, fratricidal war, and the seizure of foreign territories, which undermine peace in the world.”
Fr. Surówka, who studied ecumenical theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, reflected that “without prejudice to the dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate, the Vatican could more frankly say what Church thinks about it. The Catholic Church has to say: 'Yes, we would like to conduct ecumenical dialogue with you; but that you support terrorists is unacceptable for us.' It could move us back in ecumenical cooperation, but it would become an expression of our humanity.”
During the Ukrainian bishop's ad limina visit to Rome last week, Pope Francis reminded them of their duties to justice and truth amid their country's crisis.
Cherenkov commented that in the crisis, “church diplomacy should give its authoritative word. The World Council of Churches is the only place where the heads of Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Churches can meet. Patriarch Kirill could influence the politics of Putin.”http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/L3_cMIR9wdg
Full article…
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...ourtesy_Aid_to_the_Church_in_Need_CNA.jpgKyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26, 2015 / 04:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has sent a letter inviting Pope Francis to visit Ukraine, though the Vatican diplomacy has not yet responded, Ukraine’s Embassy to the Holy See told CNA on Wednesday.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/fIBCn1y0UVg
Full article…
Code:
The embassy forwarded the letter to the Vatican Secretariat of State Feb. 18, two days before the ad limina meeting of Ukrainian bishops with Pope Francis.
Bishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Vladimir the Great of Paris told Radio Liberty Feb. 25 he was aware of the letter, and that the Pope had a “positive reaction” to it.
On the other hand, diplomatic sources warned CNA Feb. 25 there would still be a long way to go before a papal trip to Ukraine could effectively take place.
According to the source, neither security nor relations with the Russian Orthodox Church would slow down the organization of the trip, but that the trip itself should be carefully managed, which would take time.
“When John Paul II visited Ukraine in 2001, he spent five days in the country, and it was considered a rush. Pope Francis’ visit would last at least three days, between Kyiv, Lviv and perhaps another city,” the source maintained.
Should the Pope give a positive response to the invitation, one possibility is that a papal trip to Ukraine could be an adjunct to his 2016 visit to Poland for World Youth Day.
A papal visit to Ukraine would represent a hope for the country, according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Major Archbishop Shevchuk said in a press conference Feb. 23 he had invited the Pope to visit Ukraine, saying such a visit would “bring peace to that part of Eastern Europe soaked with the blood of so many martyrs for the unity of the Church.”
During the press conference, Major Archbishop Shevchuk also pointed out that Ukraine is “victim of a foreign aggression,” and that “the Ukrainian people feel hurt when the Holy See uses expressions that seemingly come from the Russian propaganda.”
Major Archbishop Shevchuk referred to Pope Francis ‘off the cuff’ words at the Feb. 4 General Audience, during which he referred to the conflict in Ukraine as “fratricidal violence.”
Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, later explained that Pope Francis “has always wished to address all the interested parties, trusting in the sincere efforts of each one to implement agreements reached by common consent and invoking the principle of international law, to which the Holy See has referred several times since the beginning of the crisis.”
In the official speech delivered to Ukrainian Bishops Feb. 20, Pope Francis no longer mentioned “fratricidal violence,” though on the other hand there was no mention either of a ‘foreign aggression’ or Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Major Archbishop Shevchuk commented that the Pope “had spoken of the respect of the international law, and asked for respect of the integrity of Ukrainian territory,” and made it understood that this was enough to him.
On the other hand, he also urged a “humanitarian action in the country to help refugees.”
Major Archbishop Shevchuk stressed that “UN official data estimates 1 million displaced persons, but non-official data estimates that the amount of people escaping from Crimea and Donbas may be double that, including 140,000 children.
The Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said religious freedom is lacking in Russian-administered Crimea, and areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists: “Muslim Tartars of Crimea had to escape because they were persecuted; Jewish people in Donetsk had to leave the Donbas or were obliged to register themselves as Jewish and to pay a tax; and in Crimea five parishes were requested to renew by March 1 an authorization to stay in the territory, with the risk that the request may be rejected.”
Major Archbishop Shevchuk said the Pope told the Ukrainian bishops: “The Holy See supports you, also on the international stage, to articulate your rights, your concerns, and the evangelical values that motivate you.” And he reportedly added: “I am at your side, I am at your service.”http://forums.catholic-questions.or...r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/fIBCn1y0UVg
Full article…
- Status
- Not open for further replies.