KHARKIV, Ukraine - In post-Soviet Ukraine, churches are
rebuilding. Not just structures, but parish communities as
well.
A delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops got
to see for themselves the progress that Roman Catholic and
Ukrainian Greek Catholic communities were making during a
fact-finding trip June 20-24.
At almost every stop, the five-member delegation had to step
around construction supplies and equipment. Even the Kiev
residence of Ukrainian Catholic Major Archbishop Sviatoslav
Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, where the delegation stayed, remains
under construction.
But the group did not seem to mind.
"I see the growth, the energy and zeal of the church in
Ukraine," said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville,
Kentucky, USCCB president, during one of the stops June 22.
He told Catholic News Service that he was aware of many of
the projects funded by the bishops' annual collection for the
church in central eastern Europe, but seeing them firsthand
provided a new perspective.
"The church buildings themselves are visible signs of the
faith that is in the hearts of people," he said. "So when I
see the cathedral, which is prominent, when I see a pastoral
office of the church, they are symbols of the great growth
within the life of the church."
The reconstruction and renovation has continued since 1991,
when Ukraine received its independence from the former Soviet
Union and some church property was returned to church
leaders. However, the need for church facilities remains
great because communities of the faithful are growing.
The growth and development is noticeable especially in
eastern Ukraine, where the Orthodox Church is dominant and
Roman Catholics and Ukrainian Greek Catholics are small
minorities. But the setting is not without its challenges as
the delegation, which included Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of
Chicago, chairman of the bishops' Subcommittee on Aid to the
Church in Central and Eastern Europe, learned.
For example, it took Father Mykhajlo Semenovych, rector of a
small chapel, which now serves as the cathedral for recently
ordained Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Vasyl Tuchapets of
Kharkiv, several years to obtain the piece of land from the
local government for construction. He said the project was
delayed because it was opposed by local Orthodox officials.
So while the land has been in hand since 1999 and the
temporary chapel was built, cathedral construction has been
slow and only a basement is in place. Funding and permits are
being sought to continue. Father Semenovych said the faith
community has grown faster than the church structure.
The presence of many young people in the Ukrainian Catholic
parish makes the community vibrant. Maria Mytko is one
member. She studies in a local music school and leads the
parish choir. She recently placed second in a
church-sponsored singing contest.
Father Ihor Tabaka and his wife Iryna, who came to Lubotyn,
10 miles outside of Kharkiv, as missionaries in 2006, faced
another challenge. He said many people in the region still
hold stereotypes about Catholics. A church building, he
explained, is crucial for the pastoral work because a faith
community without a proper building is considered a sect by
others.
Similar growth is being experienced in both Catholic churches
in western Ukraine.
In Lviv, the Ukrainian Catholic University is developing a
new campus in an ambitious project. Student residence and
multipurpose buildings already are in use and construction of
a campus church will be completed by the end of the year.
Work on a new library recently started.
About 200 students, a dozen resident fellows and three
Redemptorist nuns who help with pastoral programs live in the
student residence.
The school also has welcomed a group of people with mental
disabilities. Bishop Borys Gudziak, university president,
calls them "professors of human relations." He believes they
can teach trust and openness to the students who still feel
the trauma of the Soviet past.
Archbishop Kurtz said their presence makes the university a
distinctive place after the delegation's June 22 visit.
Elsewhere in Lviv, the Roman Catholic Church is finishing
renovation of the historic Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel,
located in a deteriorating seminary building. The
Dominican-run chapel serves as the pastoral center for
students and youth. The chapel's walls are decorated with
frescoes by Polish-born painter Jan Henryk de Rosen that are
being restored with the help of the Polish culture ministry.
The chapel was the only room in the building confiscated by
the Soviet regime and that has been returned to the Roman
Catholics. Church officials hope to get back the rest of the
building before it collapses.
Archbishop Cupich said the USCCB was pleased to be able to
assist with such projects as well as others in eastern and
central Europe.
"The damage done not only to economy and country but the
human spirit is going to take a long time to overcome,"
Archbishop Cupich told CNS.
He said the U.S. bishops fund projects that create capacity
for Catholic communities and that seeing the Roman and
Ukrainian Catholic churches taking charge of the
reconstruction efforts points to a sustainable future for
such efforts.