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Major Archbiship Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Credit: UGCC Rome, Italy, Mar 30, 2011 / 09:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, newly enthroned as the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on March 29, will discuss the possible restoration of his church's historic status as a patriarchate with Pope Benedict XVI during his upcoming visit to the Vatican.“A patriarchate is a period in the completion of the development of a church,” he explained to reporters in Kyiv before his departure for the Vatican. He said that the delegation would discuss the development of the Ukrainian Catholic Church that has taken...

The Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has made it clear that he will continue to press for the recognition of a Ukrainian patriarchate, despite opposition from Orthodox prelates. In a statement formally released by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar asked the faithful to pray and fast for the recognition of a Ukrainian patriarchate, saying that it would be a positive and natural development in the life of the Eastern-rite Church. The Major Archbishop-- the leader of the largest Byzantine-rite community in union with Rome-- said that the plea for recognition of...