Ukrainian Catholics leading the New Evangelization

[CDB1718]

Patriarch Sviatoslav is active in the New Evangelization. He speaks of our role in leading by sharing our history and our theology of the image and of beauty. Here is an article about one place that is taking up the call.

In a similar vein, let me say here and now: “I have seen the future of the new evangelization, and its name is the Ukrainian Catholic University.”

If the place eventually becomes known as “the Boss” of Catholic evangelism, remember you heard it here first.

Located in Lviv in western Ukraine, the university is part of the revival of the Greek Catholic Church after the fall of the Soviet empire, when it was the largest illegal religious body in the world. The biggest of the 22 Eastern churches in communion with Rome, it has more than 3 million followers in Ukraine and around 5.5 million worldwide.

Re-established in 1994, with an enrollment today around 1,600, this is the only Catholic university in the former Soviet sphere; as they like to say, it’s the only Catholic university “between Poland and Japan.”

Its bold aim is nothing less than to “rethink” what a Catholic university can be in the 21st century.

All that would be remarkable under any circumstances, and the vision exercises a powerful gravitational pull. Deans with Ph.D.s from places such as Oxford and Harvard earn a salary that works out to about $9,000 a year, which admittedly goes farther in Lviv than in New York or Rome – but, let’s face it, not that much farther.

In the context of present-day Ukraine, however, this place is nothing short of a miracle.

The country’s political leadership is drifting towards old-school authoritarianism. Although there are roughly 170 universities in Ukraine, most are heavily dependent on state funding and thus tend to stifle dissent. Observers say only a handful foster a climate in which civil society can find its voice on issues such as corruption and the rule of law, and the Catholic University is perhaps the most visible example.

They’ve paid a price. A couple of years ago, Gudziak got a chilling visit from Ukrainian security agents suggesting that his students shouldn’t protest a visit to Lviv by President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian figure whom many Ukrainians see as beholden to Moscow and to his country’s oligarchs. Rather than kowtowing, Gudziak published a memo describing the meeting and outlining a broader campaign of harassment (including tapping his phones), which elicited support for the university from diplomats, NGOs, and a cross-section of Ukrainian intellectuals and activists.

Now the university is facing another round of pressure, with questions from government officials about its accreditation. Once again, all signals are that they have no intention of allowing themselves to be muzzled, believing that the road to democracy and an open society doesn’t run in that direction.

Read how the Ukrainian Catholic University is leading the way in the New Evangelization at the National Catholic Reporter. ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/future-new-evangelization-look-ukraine

 

[jwinch2]

Very interesting, and compelling article. Hopefully the universal Church can learn from those experiences and apply those lessons elsewhere.

Peace,