UGKTs PATRIARCH TELLS HEAD OF VATICAN STATE SECRETARIAT ABOUT REAL EVENTS IN UKRAINE
Within the framework of a visit by hierarchs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGKTs) to the apostolic see, bishops of the UGKTs synod, led by Patriarch Sviatoslav, visited the State Secretariat of the Vatican on 17 February. This was reported by the UGKTs Department of Information, referring to the press service of the society Holy Wisdom.
At a meeting with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the head of this government institution of the Vatican, the head of UGKTs told him about the real situation in Ukraine and the pastoral challenges that the UGKTs faces in circumstances of war. In particular he informed the archbishop about the "Appeal of the synod of bishops to priests about pastoral care in conditions of war."
In his appeal to the representative of Vatican diplomacy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav also emphasized the necessity of speaking and defending the truth in any circumstances. "It is this that Ukrainian citizens expect from the Apostolic See as the highest moral authority," he added.
After lunch, a bishops' Divine Liturgy was held in the Lateran cathedral, which was led by Patriarch Sviatoslav, with the bishops of the UGKTs synod concelebrating. In his sermon to the faithful, gathered for prayer, the head of UGKTs emphasized that the bishops had come to the Holy Father in order to tell the truth about the aggression from which Ukraine is suffering today.
"At one time, my predecessor Metropolitan Gregory Tsamblak [Grigorije Camblak] came here in order to tell the Christian West about the Mongol-Tatar invasion. And today we feel it our duty to tell the world the truth about what is happening in Ukraine," the primate of UGKTs emphasized. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 February 2015)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.