• Home page
  • News
  • "Inside the Vatican" magazine named UGCC head among Top 10 People of 2013...

"Inside the Vatican" magazine named UGCC head among Top 10 People of 2013

03.04.2014, 12:58
"Inside the Vatican" magazine named UGCC head among Top 10 People of 2013 - фото 1
Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, named a key player in Christian ecumenism worldwide by "Inside the Vatican" magazine.

Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, named a key player in Christian ecumenism worldwide by "Inside the Vatican" magazine.

"For his energy and passion in defending the Church in Ukraine, especially during this difficult year for that country, we honor him as one of the “Top Ten” people of 2013", reads the article.

Magazine calls him a unifying force for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine and around the world, since he has lived abroad and knows the Ukrainian communities worldwide. "He is a promoter of ecumenical dialogue with the Orthodox Church and he seeks dialogue with the present government of the Ukraine".

Shevchuk is also a Church leader who raises his voice in defense of civil liberties, especially the freedom of expression in light of the recent events in Kiev. He knows Pope Francis very well as he spent several years in Buenos Aires, shepherding the Ukrainian community in Argentina. Shevchuk considers Pope Francis his mentor in the episcopate, because his first assignment as a Ukrainian Catholic bishop was in Argentina, so “this whole dimension of poverty, simplicity, evangelical counsels, is something that will provide another inburst of the Holy Spirit for the Catholic Church worldwide,” he said.

Regarding recent attacks by police against peaceful protesters in Kiev, the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church strongly denounced the police action. The statement, signed by Shevchuk and the members of the permanent synod, condemned “the action directed towards restricting civil liberties, especially the freedom of expression and peaceful civic manifestation of the citizens of Ukraine.” They declared their “support and solidarity with all those on Maydan Square who are standing with dignity and witnessing to the dignity of their fellow citizens and of the whole nation.“ They strongly supported “the peaceful character of this civic gathering and declare our rejection of any type of violence.

Full article ”http://insidethevatican.com/magazine/people/archbishop-sviatoslav-shevchuk-major-archbishop-ukrainian-greek-catholic-church