Pope Arrives in Ukraine

[Gość: HANS]

Pope Arrives in Ukraine
Jun 23 2001 7:19AM

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Pope John Paul II pleaded Saturday for inter-church
understanding in Ukraine, a predominantly Orthodox country where the papal
visit has cast a spotlight on bitter religious division, and offered an apology
for Catholic contributions to the strife.
``Let us recognize our faults as we ask forgiveness for the errors committed in
both the distant and recent past,'''' the pope said after arriving at Borispil
Airport outside the capital Kiev. ``Let us in turn offer forgiveness for the
wrongs endured.''''

A small group of local residents stood on the tarmac with signs welcoming the
pontiff, and children in colorful, embroidered folk costumes presented him with
a bowl of Ukrainian soil and the traditional Slavic offering of bread and salt.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma greeted the pope, clasping his hands and
holding him by the elbow as he walked slowly to the covered red podium in front
of the airport building. After a morning of steady rain, the sun was shining
brightly, bouncing off the brass instruments of the military band and the
bayonets of the honor guard.

``Finally, with deep joy, I have been able to kiss the beloved soil of Ukraine.
I thank God for the gift that he has given me today,'''' the pope said in
Ukrainian.

The Vatican has called the five-day trip to Ukraine a mission of ``peace and
reconciliation,'''' and John Paul is hoping it will help calm inter-church
tensions and even pave the way for a pilgrimage to Russia - like Ukraine, a
predominantly Orthodox country.

``I have not come here with the intention of proselytizing,'''' the pope said,
adding that he wanted to speak with all church leaders in Ukraine.

Yet Russian Orthodox Church leaders in Moscow, who also control the majority of
Orthodox parishes in Ukraine, have rejected the pope''s overtures to overcome
the schism that has divided the branches of the church for nearly 1,000 years.

They accuse Catholics of aggressive missionary activity among the Orthodox and
of seizing Orthodox churches and other property in Ukraine.

``The pontiff''s visit will not bring any ''pacification'' to the relations
between confessions in Ukraine but, on the contrary, it will only complicate
them,'''' Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II said Saturday, according to the
ITAR-Tass news agency.

No Orthodox representatives were at the airport to greet the pope, and
representatives of Ukraine''s largest Orthodox Church, which is affiliated with
Moscow, planned to boycott a meeting Sunday between the pope and leaders of
Ukrainian churches. Metropolitan Vladimir, the head of the church, flatly ruled
out any meeting with John Paul.

``If we embrace and give each other a brotherly kiss at a time when problems
continue to exist and the people are suffering, it would look like a betrayal
of Orthodoxy,'''' he said in a documentary due to be broadcast Saturday on
Russia''s RTR television.

Protest organizers instructed their followers not to demonstrate during the
pope''s visit.

Instead, they said Orthodox believers could attend all-night vigils where a
special prayer used in time of war - ``Against the Adversary'''' - would be read.

Before the pope''s arrival Saturday, dozens of believers chanted prayers and
walked in a procession around the main cathedral in Kiev''s Monastery of the
Caves, a site considered sacred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and central to
the Ukrainian nation''s identity.

John Paul is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of Kuchma, who apparently saw
the trip as a way of advancing his nation''s quest for acceptance in the West.
Kuchma was the focus of angry protests over the fall and winter by opponents
accusing him of involvement in the killing of a critical journalist, but he
steadfastly rejected the accusations and the opposition roar has faded.

The country of 50 million is fractured along religious lines. There are about 1
million Roman Catholics and 5 million Eastern Rite Catholics, who follow
Orthodox ritual but bear allegiance to the pope. Two small Orthodox churches
are vying with the Moscow Patriarchate for influence among Orthodox believers.

In addition to the two Masses outside Kiev, the pope was scheduled to visit a
monument that commemorates the Nazis'' killing of more than 33,000 Jews in the
Babi Yar ravine in Kiev, and another massacre site, at Bykovnia, where the
Soviet secret police slaughtered Ukrainians. He was also to beatify 28 Eastern
rite Catholics, most of them considered martyrs under the Nazis or communists.

On Monday, John Paul is to travel to the western Catholic stronghold of Lviv,
where at least 1.5 million believers are expected to attend Mass.