Pastoral care for youth, emigrants and catechization are under special attention of UGCC Synod of Bishops

Friday, 14 September 2012, 23:09

UGCC Synod of Bishops 2012, taking place in Canada (Portage La Prarie near Winnipeg) listened during the first day of its meeting to the reports of the Synod Commissions. The goal of the Synod Commissions is to present to the Synod the condition, challenges and obligations that face the Church in all aspects of its life. This year the bishops paid special attention to the issue of pastoral care for youth, for emigrants, and catechization.

The reports were presented by the chairs of the given committees: Bishop Yaroslav (Pryriz), Committee on Issues of Youth; Bishop Dionysius (Liakhovych), Committee on Migrants and Refugees; Bishop Petro (Stasiuk), Committee on Catechetization and Christian Education.

The Synod Fathers expressed their approval to forming a SINGLE Youth Forum in UGCC which will offer the opportunity to unite youth in Ukraine and in other countries of residence, guarantee the young Greek-Catholics a space in which to communicate and interact about their spiritual lives and their bearing witness to their faith in the current world

In analyzing the plight of migrants in the current world, the position of the Ukrainian migrants and the activities of the Church towards establishing a adequate care for them, the members of the UGCC Synod of Bishops voiced their concern about the on-going mass exit of Ukrainians from their homeland.

Simultaneously, there were several proposals approved regarding support to them while abroad, and preserving their national and religious identity. In issues of catechization the bishops decided to include learning of the UGCC Catechism through its teaching by clergy and laity, to develop new catechetical programs on the basis of the UGCC Catechism and in the spirit of the Christian tradition of Volodymyr’s Baptism, to improve catechism studies in countries where there are no UGCC structures.

Secretariat, UGCC Synod of Bishops