Patriarch Lubomyr Calls U. S. Ukrainian Catholics to Feel Unity with Ukraine
Washington, D.C. - Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), went on a visit to the United States and visited Ukrainian communities in the country. He called the Ukrainian Catholic faithful of the United States to feel unity with the Greek Catholics of Ukraine and the world. This was reported by voanews.com on 7 March 2005.
"It is important to feel that we are one church, regardless of whether people speak Ukrainian and how well. To feel that they are part of a church that is centered in Ukraine but has faithful in the United States, in Canada, in Australia. To feel, that is, that we are one," Patriarch Lubomyr said.
The patriarch expressed his certainty that this unity is only possible when the faithful are aware of their ethnicity, that everybody should ask themselves who they are and where they come from, what they bring and represent. He mentioned the recent Orange Revolution in Ukraine as a process that will doubtless strengthen Ukrainian identity, both in and outside of Ukraine. "The Orange Revolution made Ukraine the focus of attention. This means, I have something to identify with," he said.
Patriarch Lubomyr said that, historically, because Greek Catholics were persecuted during the Soviet period of Ukrainian history, Ukrainian Catholics of the diaspora aimed at the revival and support of the UGCC in Ukraine. Now the time has come to concentrate on the faith itself and on strengthening the spiritual values of the faithful of the Ukrainian diaspora, he added.
Sources: www1.voanews.com, www.ugcc.org.ua
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