Your gift counts double until 5/31: $20,923 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Ukraine seen as remaining stumbling block for Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical advances

CWN - June 28, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI remarked on June 28 that he sees great signs of hope in relations between the Holy See and the world’s Orthodox churches. While the ecumenical climate has undoubtedly improved in the past five years, the conflict over the Catholic presence in the Ukraine remains the single greatest impediment to further progress, says Sandro Magister of L’Espresso. He notes that the dispute reached its zenith in 2003, when Pope John Paul II was prepared to recognize a Byzantine Catholic patriarchate of Kiev. The outraged reaction from Moscow and Constantinople prompted the Vatican to shelve the idea, and Pope Benedict has not revived it.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($20,923 to go):
$80,000.00 $59,077.50
26% 74%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 1 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: Gregory108 - Jun. 28, 2010 10:31 PM ET USA

    Russia and friends, the Russian Orthodox Church, want to eliminate Ukraine from the earth. Ukrainian Catholics, who won't kiss the Russian Patriarch's ring and give up national aspirations are one of the biggest impediments to forced "unity" between Ukraine and Moscow. So it must be! Ukrainians died by millions to keep their Catholic heritage, to stand for the Church..they were martyred by the Soviets with the silence of the Russian Orthodox hierarchy. It's time for the Church to stand for them.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Revealing News, and Revealing Christ 11 hours ago
The Russell Ford problem 11 hours ago
Fr. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly: Your Letter May Help 18 hours ago
The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church May 23
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church May 23

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8