Ukrainian Orthodox Leader Welcomes Papal Visit

VATICAN, Mar. 15, 01 (CWNews.com) - Patriarch Filaret of Kiev-- one of three leaders prelates with competing claims to leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-- has indicated that he is looking forward to welcoming Pope John Paul II when the Pontiff visits Ukraine in May.

Patriarch Filaret sharply criticized the Russian Orthodox Church leadership for an "imperial" attitude toward Ukrainian Orthodoxy. (The Moscow Patriarchate backs the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is in competition with Filaret's Patriarchate of Kiev.) He argued that his own Church-- not the one allied with Moscow-- truly represents the Orthodox faithful of Ukraine, and added that these Orthodox believers are delighted with the prospect of a papal visit-- in sharp contrast to the Moscow-backed Church, which has issued a public appeal to the Pope to postpone his scheduled visit.

In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Patriarch Filaret said that Russian religious and political leaders are worried that Pope John Paul will give some recognition to the independent Orthodox churches of Ukraine. He charged that during a recent visit to Rome, the Russian prime minister Kasianov urged the Pope not to meet with any Orthodox leaders during his trip.

The Russian leader reportedly warned that any such meeting could provoke a break in ecumenical ties between the Vatican and Moscow. Indeed, Moscow's Patriarch Aleksei II has repeatedly criticized Catholic "interference" in the religious life of Ukraine, and argued against the papal visit. Ecumenical relations between Rome and Moscow have been slow and halting for several years. On at least two occasions, Patriarch Aleksei has scheduled a "summit" meeting with the Pope, only to back out, renewing his complaints about Catholic "proselytism" in Russia and Ukraine.

Patriarch Filaret, however, argues that the Moscow Patriarchate is committing a grave error in "thinking they can preserve the Russian empire." He also told La Repubblica that Moscow is trying to "build a wall to keep out Catholics, new ideas, and the world in general." That effort, he continued, is doomed to failure. In fact, Filaret added, "a meeting between the Orthodox believer and the Catholic-- or the Jew, or Muslim-- does not necessarily imply any risk that the Orthodox believer will renounce his own faith."

Patriarch Filaret was once recognized by the Moscow Patriarchate as the head of the Orthodox Church in Kiev. But in 1992, because of his persistent calls for the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Moscow stripped Filaret of that recognition. Today his Patriarchate of Kiev is the most influential of the autocephalous Orthodox churches in Ukraine, with 6 million faithful.

"At the beginning of the 1990s, I was afraid of becoming separated from Moscow," Filaret told La Repubblica. "But today I have no fear of being disobedient to Aleksei II, because we represent the Ukrainian people." He continued: "For us, the Pope's visit will be a historic event, comparable to the meeting in 1964 between Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople."

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update
15. mars 2001