Vatican Believes ROC Should Recognize Own Guilt in Addition to Accusing Greek Catholics in Ukraine

RISU ^ | 12/18/13

[marshmallow]

The conflict between Greek Catholics and Orthodox in Western Ukraine has to be resolved from both sides, said Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. “Only by recognizing this can we move together into the future,” he said December 17, responding to journalists' questions at a press conference in Moscow.

A correspondent from Blahovest-info asked about the cardinal’s attitude toward the issue, which, the Russian Orthodox Church believes, complicates the preparation of a possible meeting between the Moscow Patriarch and the Pope. The journalist quoted statements recently made by Metropolitan Hilarion’s at a Russian-Polish conference: “Even in the twentieth century, we are faced with a situation that is still unhealed – a situation in western Ukraine, where the Greek Catholics at the turn of 1980-90s forcibly expelled the Orthodox from churches and where there are still towns and villages where the Orthodox do not have their own churches.”

“I agree with Metropolitan Hilarion: The situation in Ukraine is very serious. But from my point of view, it has two sides, and Metropolitan Hilarion willingly speaks only of one. I have visited many parishes in Western Ukraine and saw the suffering on both sides. If the blame for what happened just lay on the Greek Catholics, we would have a lot of influence,” he answered in response to a question about the possibility of returning to the Orthodox churches.

[Salvation]

Is this about the Russian Orthodox Church?

[Alex Murphy]

Is this about the Russian Orthodox Church?

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