Pastoral visit of the Head of the Church to Poland is finished

On the first day of the visit the Head of the Church, at the invitation of Fr Arnold Kharapkovskyi, the General of the Paulist order and Fr Marian Valigura, the prior of the pilgrimage place "Yasna Gora", took part in a joint prayer for God's mercy for Ukraine. It is known, the Polish Bishops' Conference from the first Sunday of Lent pray daily to the miraculous icon of Our Lady for the cessation of hostilities in Donbas.

On 9 June His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with Archbishop Kazimierz Nych, Metropolitan of Warsaw RCC. In a conversation that touched on Pastoral Care of many immigrants from Ukraine who were in the capital of Poland, participated Bishop Ivan (Martynyak) of Przemyśl – Warsaw UGCC. This day His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the editors of the Catholic Information Agency Krzysztof Tomasik and Marcin Pshetsishevskyi. And with former Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld, who proposed the creation of the International Centre for Dialogue and Ukrainian – Polish Youth Meetings named after Blessed Omelian Kovch in Peremyshliany, near Lviv.

Before the annual meeting of the Chapter of the Polish - Ukrainian reconciliation was the meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine in Poland Andriy Deshchytsya and advisers of the Embassy. During the meeting the participants agreed that it is necessary to share information and coordinate activities between diplomatic and church structures abroad.

After the meeting at the Embassy the Head of the UGCC took part in a press - briefing with Polish and foreign journalists, interested in the position of the Church on the unjust aggression of Russia. On the same day in Warsaw Łazienki Królewskie the Primate of the Church attended the awards ceremony of the Chapter of the Polish - Ukrainian reconciliation. Statuettes were handed out to this year's winners. Among the recipients was Leonid Zashkilnyak, Lviv historian and Ambassador of the European Parliament Pavel Koval, Ukrainian television team Hromadske TV and Polish Radio Wnet. The event was attended by Stanislaw Budzik, Metropolitan of Lublin RCC, Bogdan Borusevich, Marshal of the Senate of Poland, Jacek Kozlowskyi, Mazowiecki governor, and famous cultural figures, social and political activists, politicians, scientists and students.

Then the Head of the UGCC held a meeting with the Presidium of the Conference of Bishops of Poland with the assistance of Stanislav Gondetskyi, Archbishop of Poznan RCC, and Marek Yendrashevskyi, Archbishop of Lodz RCC, and Bishops Arthur Mizinskyi, Secretary of the Conference of the Episcopate of Poland and Marian Royek, Bishop of Zamoysk-Lyubachivsk diocese. The meeting was also attended by Mieczyslaw Mokrzyckyi, Archbishop of Lviv RCC, Ivan (Martynyak), Archbishop of Przemysl – Warsaw UGCC, Vasyl (Tuchapets), Kharkiv Exarch of UGCC. Following the meeting the representatives of the Catholic Church in Poland and Ukraine issued a Joint Communique, which call for cooperation, mutual understanding and support between Ukrainian and Polish peoples.

During His visit to Poland His Beatitude Sviatoslav drew His attention to the importance of joint Pastoral letter of forgiveness and reconciliation from June 2005 and confirmed the readiness of the Greek Catholic Church to dialogue and cooperation with the Polish episcopate.

Pictures: Roman Zadorozhnyi

 UGCC Department of Information