This Week in the News

The announcement that Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia Lyubomyr Husar of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) would be retiring due to health issues dominated the Ukrainian news service. His Beatitude is one of the leading ecclesiastical voices in Ukraine and is the spiritual leader for one of Ukraine's traditional churches. At the press conference announcing his resignation, His Beatitude exhorted the Ukrainian government to resume discussion with the nation's minority religions. He mentioned that, despite many requests, no government officials had any "serious discussions" with the UGCC in all of 2010, which is a problem that many other religious minorities share. He also mentioned the complaints of favoritism towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) on the part of the government because President Viktor Yanukovich is numbered among its ranks. He did not make any accusations, however, only stating that he was glad the president was a religious man. Husar also touched on the problems and persecutions that other Ukrainian churches are facing, specifically mentioning the pressure put on priests of the UOC-Kyiv Patriarchate to switch to Moscow. The Cardinal also left a stinging rejoinder for the current administration, stating that in the realm of church-state relations, the Ukrainian authorities "are doing nothing but repeating (sic) the mistakes of centuries."

In what was His Beatitude's last official function as head of the UGCC, Husar sat at the annual roundtable held by the Razumkov Center* on the topic of church-state relations. This roundtable is attended by heads and representative of many of Ukraine's religious organizations, government officials, religious scholars, and some members of the public, and is a valuable resource for gauging the relationship between spiritual and secular leaders. At the roundtable, Husar stated that the state tries to control the church because it is afraid of the church because the church raises "mature, thinking, and responsible citizens which is not convenient for the state power." He also went on to state that both the government's use of the church in its support structure and the church imposing its will on government officials to control the people produce negative consequences. The group as a whole decided that the state and religious organizations should be cooperative, since both serve the same people, yet remain separate entities.

As a result of the roundtable, those in attendance signed a document putting forth the outcome of their discussion. This document includes statements as to the aforementioned separation of church and state, a rejection of attempts to turn religion into a political ideology, a call against official favoritism or having a state religion, an elimination of pressure from the government in regards to church internal affairs, and a restitution of church property currently in possession of the state. The Institute of Religious Freedom also provided a summary of major points from several speakers at the 3-day event.

* The Razumkov Center is a non-governmental think tank that carries out sociological surveys and researches public policy in a number of areas, including religion, security, state administration, and energy.

Articles referenced in this post:

In Ukraine, a 'Major' Exit

http://risu.org.ua/en/index/monitoring/society_digest/40631/

Patriarch Lubomyr: State Wants ot Control Church as it is Afraid of it

http://risu.org.ua/en/index/expert_thought/comments/40589/

Lubomyr Husar: State and church in Ukraine should resume dialog

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/96828/

Звернення учасників постійно діючого Круглого столу «Релігія і влада в Україні: проблеми взаємовідносин» до Президента, Верховної Ради, Кабінету Міністрів України (Address of the Members of the Roundtable "Religion and Power in Ukraine: Problems of Relations" to the President, Supreme Rada, and Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine)

http://www.irs.in.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=801%3A1&catid=50%3Azv&Itemid=78&lang=uk

Парламентарі, представники Церков та експерти обговорили наявні проблеми у державно-церковних відносинах (Parliament Members, Religious Leaders and Experts Discuss the Current Problems in State-Church Relations)

http://www.irs.in.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=803%3A1&catid=62%3Ainterv&Itemid=85&lang=uk