Greek Catholic Head Recalls Pope
Lviv — Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), gave his assessment of the historic role of Pope John Paul II in the rebirth of the UGCC, called the clergy to pray for the repose of his soul, and stressed the importance of common prayer during the election of the new head of the Roman Catholic Church. The press service of the UGCC published the cardinal's address to the hierarchs, clergy, representatives of monastic life and faithful of the UGCC on 4 April 2005. Excerpts follow.
"Today, when we are feeling the emotional pain of loss, we lack the perspective of time to properly value his historical figure and his many-sided activities," reads Cardinal Husar's address. "We will that do over the many following months and years. Today we can only say that, in his years as universal pontiff, the Pope helped our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church enormously in its transition from the state of slavery to a normal life.
"It is possible that many of us feel sorrow at the fact that Pope John Paul II did not complete the process of our church's rebirth that had started so well. But the deceased himself had said that this cause will reach its proper conclusion in God's own good time. He hoped to be the one to complete it, but it was not to be. And this fact cannot diminish our gratefulness to him for everything he did for our church," the address reads.
Cardinal Husar asked the clergy to hold memorial Divine Liturgies and called all the faithful to participate on the day of the funeral, as well as on the ninth and on the fortieth day (Sunday, 10 April and Wednesday, 11 May).
Since, according to church directives, the election process of the new successor of St. Peter, an important moment in the life of the Universal Church, is to begin soon after the funeral, the cardinal asked the clergy to pray for the election of the new Pope on April 17, and during all the days of the election.
Source: www.ugcc.org.ua
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