Ukraine tragedy without frontiers

THE SERVANT OF GOD JOSEPH BENJAMIN RUISKY.1

The photograph at the left shows St. George's Cathedral in Lviv, the city of the Prince of Ukraine . The Communists transformed it by force into a temple united to Moscow, as shown in the symbolic drawing to the right.

The purpose of the Soviets is to break the Uniate Catholic Church's union with Rome and to destroy it. This union (precious to Ukrainians) is symboli zed by the drawing at the top of the page which shows St. George's Cathedral in Lviv united to St. Peter's in Rome .

At the center is shown the Servant of God Joseph Benjamin Rutskyi, Metropolitan of the Uniate Catholic Church in Ukraine, 1614-1637. He was an apostle of union with Rome, and the initiator of the idea of the Ukrainian Catholic Patriarchate.

Today, in spite of the fierce opposition of the Communists, union with Rome and the Patriarchate continue to be the great aspirations of the Ukrainians. However, the prob lem is made more complicated and agonizing by the Vatican's present policy of Ostpolitik . What is the solution for Catholic Ukrainians?

THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN CHILE

In describing the Church in Chile, the book The Church of Silence in Chile will give you a thorough understanding of the sile nt Catholic majorities in the West who are ridiculed and reduced by the liberal mass media to a condition of helplessness. As the Communistprogressivist process pushes its demolishing action forward, perplexed and anguished Catholics are forming a Church of Silence analogous to that existing in th e countries under Communist domination.

Find out why Radio Moscow repeatedl y attacked this book and de fended the Bishops of Chile.

Order from: Lumen Mariae Publications P.O. Box 99455 Erieview Station Cleveland,Ohio 44199 220 docu ments 450 pages $6. 7 5 a copy plus 25</, mailing ~h.16 ~ 1 _,; :

Cnusabe fon Chn1shan C1u1liut10n A

Editor: John Hart Circulation Director: Gerald Campbell Foreign correspondents, Jules Ubbelohde !England), Guy de Rider (France), Jose Luis de Zayas (Spain), Luis Dufour (Italy), Michel Renaud (Canada), Aloisio Schelini (Brazil), Pedro Morazzani (Vene zuela) Vol. 7

J an .-Feb., 1977

No. 1

Crusade for a Christian Civilization P.O. Box 128 1, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10802 Issued bi -month ly . Annual sub scription - $9.50 . Foreign - $10.50.

Application to mail at Second Class Postage is pending at New Rochelle, N.Y .

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@'orgoUen ~rufna;

SAINTS, POPES, AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH SPEAK OF RESISTANCE St. Thomas Aquinas, when studying the episode in which St. Paul rebuked St. Peter wrote: "(An example was given) to prelates of humility, so that they would not refuse to accept rebukes from their inferiors and subjects ; and to subjects "(was given) an example of zeal and freedom, so that they would not fear to correct their prelates, above all, when the crime was public and redounded to the danger of many .. . The rebuke was just and useful, its motive was not light: it was a question of a danger to the preservation of the evangelical truth ... The manner in which the rebuke was given was given was appropriate, for it was public and manifest. For this reason, St. Paul writes: 'I spoke to Cephas,' (that is, to Peter) 'before all,' for the simulation prac ticed by Peter redounded to the peril of all." (Ad Cal. 2: 11-14, lect. III, no. 77 and 83-84 ).

St. Robert Bellarmine " ... just as it is licit to resist a Pon tiff who practices aggression against th e body, so also, it is licit to resist him who commits an aggression against souls, or disturbs the civil order, or, above all, he who tried to destroy the Church. I say that it is licit to resist him by not doing what he orders and by impeding the execution of his will."

(De Rom. Pont. , lib. II , c. 29).

Pope St. Leo II "We anath ematize .. . Honorius ( the Pope), who did not enlighten this apostolic See with the doctrine of the Apostolic Tradition, but permitted by a sacrilegious betrayal that the immaculate Faith be stained." (Denz. - Sch. 563 ).

* * * The Sixth Ecumenical Council pronounced on the letters of Pope Honorius and the Patriarch Sergius as follows: "Having verified that they are in entire disagree ment with the apostolic dogmas and the de finitions of the Holy Councils and all of the Fathers worthy of approbation, and that on the contrary, they have followed the false doctrines of th e heretics, we reject th em in an absolute way an d we execrate them as harmful to souls." (Denz. - Sch. 550).

* * *

(Co ntinued on page 24)

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THE NOTHING THAT MAY RESULT IN EVERYTHING

By Plinio Correa de Oliveira The precise evaluation of the importance of an event can only rarely be achieved by the employing of just one criterion .

Much more than this is normally required. In fact, it behooves one to consider all of the criteria applicable to the case, in order to be able to arrange them immediately according to a complex and subtle hierarchy of values. Only after having processed the task in this way is it possible to arrive at a satis¡ factory evaluation.

Among these criteria is one which must always be present .

And not infrequently, it is decisive. That criterion is as follows: If an event produces important consequences, it will be difficult to deny importance to it; on the contrary, if it does not produce them, it will be difficult - if not impossible - to consider that it amounts to something.

From this perspective, one sees that an impressive number of events published in the newspapers in the last few months are "sui generis." Upon reading them, one has the impression of a world in effervescence or, rather, of a world in explosion .

In reality, however, when one investigates what consequences there are from this mountain of so many explosions in progress, one is left disconcerted, for those consequences do not appear to exist.

Some examples leap before our eyes . The fall of the Portu guese Empire in Africa was certainly a tragic event and one which produced great conseq uences , bringing the enslavement to Communism not only of the former colonies but also of the Metropolis . Immedi ately thereafter, slaughters and even a revolution burst forth in th e ex-Lusitanian overseas provinces. A great deal of tr,iveling was done, many negotia tions transpired, and much vvr s written in order to remedy this evil. What resulted from all of this? Practically nothing .

Nothing except that the contagion of subversion began to spread through Rhodesia and South Africa. And then new journeys, new negotiations, and a flurry of news reports . Nevertheless, what came from all of this? The traveling continues , the negotiations are extended, and the news report proliferate.

How long will they last? What results will they bring? One does not know.

At the moment of this writing, things appear to be heating up between Rhodesia and Mozambique. Will anything come of this? Anything other than a battle without direction and with out end like the sad war in the Middle East?

This leads us to change the field of our considerations. In Lebanon, human blood flows in a tragic stream. But this does not prevent one from feeling that the constant stabbing is coming closer to the heart. What can result from all the pandemonium in that region? For the moment, one does not know .

It can suddenly result in nothing. it can turn out to be a "statu s quo antebellum ." Just as it can, at any mom e nt, se t the globe on fire.

Now we wil l cast our gaze upon another area of the Asia-

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tic continent. The fall of Vietnam and Cambodia was tragic.

Once it was consummated, the news about those regions, which had previously been so voluminous, unexpectedly began to go silent . In respect to the circums tances of the two enslaved nations, all that was rel eased for a few months was a tiny concert of contradictions . It was said that in Cambodia the Communists had been ferocious and that in Vietnam they had been enchanting. Afterwards, reports came in to show that in Vietnam also they had been terrible ... as eve rywh ere. Some dispatches soon alluded to guerrillas of non-conformists in Vietnam. Finally, everything went silent, everything resulted in nothing . In a nothing which can result in everything .

And here is one of the most disconcerting aspects of this situation . It is that anyone of these "nothings" can at any moment result in everything . It can perhaps give rise to a world war .

It is not impossible, for example, that in Cambodia and Vietnam at a given moment a popular discontent could be unleashed like the one that found expression in Hungary in 1956 or in Czechoslovakia in 1968 . And from this, possibly, a universal discontent could arise, which could end by leading to war. "A fortiori," one can say the same about the events taking place in Rhodesia, South Africa, and the Near East .

* * * Results such as these, which are on all quarters of th e horizon, are nothing at present, a nothing which can resu lt in everything at any moment . And this is the promise - or threat - of th e outcome of the Ford-Carte r electoral race in the United States. It can be that Carter will not take into account the serious pronouncements against "detente" made during the electora l campaign . It can also be that he may prefer to interpet his victory as a verdict in favor of th e ultra-conciliatory tendencies attributed to him. At prese nt, however, th e American e lectio ns, which were so agitated and noisy, appear to have resu lted in nothing decisive in the United States and the world. Yet out of this nothing may come everything . Because if the United States continues to retreat in th e fac e of Russia, into what abysses will the Wes t not be able to roll?

And if Americans become a littl e less blind and soft, how far can the Soviet reaction go?

It appears that this universal "nothing" out of which "everything" can come, is a way of being, thinking, and acting which has become generalized in the modern world.

If we should consu lt the great book of hi story, we would see that it is characteristic of civi li zations which imprudently move along the edge of dangers and abysses, to allow th emse lves to be attracted by them and in most cases to hurl th e mse lves into them . "He who loves danger, will peris h in it," says the Sacre d Scripture.

These considerations , however, wou ld take us very far indeed . Let us stop here for today .

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GOLD, MOURNING, AND BLOOD UKRAINE: A TRAGEDY WITHOUT FRONTIERS

On the 23rd day of December m the year 1595, Pope Clement VIII, the whole Pontifical Court, the Diplomatic Corps, and the thirty-three Cardinals who were in Rome gathered in th e Hall of Constantine in the Vatican for the definitive and jubilant union of the separated Ukrainian Church with the Catholic Church. On th e following day, dressed in their magnificent golden vestmen ts, the Uniate Bishops - so-called because they had united themselves to Rome - appeared in the Basilica of St. Peter for the celebration of the Vigil of Christmas.

On the 10th day of October in 1596, the Union was concluded in the Church of St. Nicholas of Brest Litovsk by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kiev, who had jurisdiction over all the Ukrainian and Byelorussian territories.

THE THREAD OF HISTORY The contacts between Rome and the Ukrainians had not come into existence only recently.

St. Olha, the Grand Princess of Kiev , was baptized in Constantinople before the schism in 955 .

Her grandson, Volodymyr, * who was later converted and who is today , enerated as a Saint, 1

*St . Olha and St. Volodymyr are also known in th e West as St. Olga and St. Vladimir.

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wished to maintain relations with Rome in spite of the opposition of the Greeks. 1

St. Olha.

In 1075, shortly after th e schism of th e E as t, the Grand Prince Iziaslav , was deposed from th e throne of Kiev by Boleslau II of Poland. When this occurred, he sent the crown prince Y aropolk and his wife to Pope St. Gregory VII. And th ey received royal crowns in Rome.

Later, at the tim e of the Tartar invasions , in th e mid-thirteen th century , the Ukrainian princes Daniel and Vasylko (of Volhynia and Galicia ) establish ed relations with the Hol y See. In respon se, th e Holy See proclaimed a crusade against the Tartars which, however, did not materialize. Many Catholic missioners were dispatched to th e coun-

try, some of them going all the way to the court of the Great Khan. In that epoch, the Apostolic Deleo-ate crowned Daniel of Galicia with the crown b "of God, of the Holy Church, of th e Holy Apostles, of the Throne of St. Peter, and of his father, Pope Innocent," as th e chronicle of the tim e reads. The hoped-for union with the Catholic Church though still not yet concluded was going on, as the admission of a Ukrainian Bishop in the Council of Lyon indicates. 2 With the decadence of the Papacy brought about by the Western schism in the fourteenth century, the attempts of union with the Ukrainians were cut off. This fac t demonstrates how the history of the Catholic Church depends on the fidelity of the successors of St. Peter to the plans of God. As we h ave seen, it was only in 1596 with the Union of Brest that the hoped-for union came to be entirely realized. Later, a second union occurred. Thus, in Uzhhorod in 1646 the Byzantine Rite of Carpatho-Ukraine was united to th e Church.

Both of th ese unions conceded special privileges to the Ukrainians, especially that of being able to maintain their rich and impressive liturgy.

A strong opposition to the Union with Rome was immediately unleashed by the schismatic ch iefs, mainly those of Constantinople, to whom the Ukrainian Church had been tied before the Union. Their hatred was concentrated especially against the figure of th e great Josaphat, Archbishop of Polock. He dedicated himself fervently to converting ari.d reuniting to Rome those who had not been united to Her, and worked for the development of Catholicism in all fields. His hagiography reveals that he prayed day and night for the return of th e separated ones and that with a heroic spirit of penitence undertook rigorous mortifications for the same intentions. His ac ti on was fruitful in every sense . He founded and restored churches , corrected customs, and so forth.

After escaping various traps of the enemies of the Church, he was martyred on the 12th of November in 1623 in Vitebsk, Byelorussia, being struck by several bullets and having his head cut open by th e blows of an ax. His body was dragged through the streets in a sack full of rocks, and hurled into the River Duna. Later, his canonical process revealed that his body shone from the

Wall painting of a Crucifixion scene from St. Nicholas' Church in Toronto .

Coronation of Prince Daniel in 1253 (by Andreychyn) .

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depths of the waters and rose to th e surface. When this occurred, the faithful piously recovered it, and eve n his assassins were converted to the Catholic faith. St. Josaphat was beatified and included in the catalogue of martyrs by Urban VIII; Pius IX canonized him in 1867. 3 The Ukrainian Catholic Church continued developing in spite of great political convulsions.

The imprisoned historian V. Moro z affirms that " the Uniate Church grew into the living body of the Ukrainian spirituality and acq uired a national character," spreading itself to the main cities of the country.

One of the treasures of the Ukrainian soul is its devo tion to Our Lady . The expe rts in the his-

St. Josaphat with samples of his handwriting.

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tory of Oriental Catholic spirituality point out that devotion to Our Lady has an especially prominent position in Ukraine. It has even been affirmed that "Mariology and Mari an devotion reached a pinn acle in Ukraine which has not bee n surpassed in any other part of the world." 4 The history of Ukrainian music is very significant in this respect, as Marian hymns from time immemorial attest. For example , one that was sung before battle was called "Our Lady, the Virgin Mary ."

Undoubtedly, all of this constitutes a promise of mercy on the part of the Mother of God toward this suffering but valiant peo ple.

At different times Ukraine has be en under th e control of Austria, Poland , Russia, Rumania, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. In spite of these vicissitudes, the rich Ukrainian national culture has not only survived but has bee n able to develop.

This continuous persecution has provided a title of glory to Catholicism in Ukraine. The Russian Tsars, moved by sectarian hatred , promoted it unceasingly. Under Tsar Peter I, th e persecution was intensified, causing thousands of martyrs. Having personally assassinated two priests of the Basilian Order, Peter I was called the "Hammer of the Ukrainian Catholic Church." In 1721, he ordered the total liquidation of the Uniate Catholic Church. Catherine II used armed force to compel 8 million of the 12 million Ukrainian Catholics to enter the Russian Church. Military expeditions were sent into Ukraine for many years in order to sustain the persecution. In 18 26, Nicholas I dispatched troops once again to that

The trident. The national emblem of Ukraine for a thousand years. Under Communism, people are imprisoned in Ukraine simply for drawing a trident on the wall.

afflicte d land. Th e y ear 1839 saw th e su ppression o f th e Me trop olitan See of Ki ev and th e Ep archi es o f Byelo russia a nd Ukrain e. Once again , th ere were th ousands of m arty rs and c onfe sso rs of the faith am o n g th e priests and faithful who resis ted. In 1875 , Al exander 11 suppresse d Kholm, the last Ca th olic Unia te dioce se within th e Russian Empire. 5 ln th e fir st World War, Ru ssian tro o ps invade d Wes tern Ukraine and "annull ed " th e Union o f Brest . Th ey impri soned Co unt AndrewSh eptytsk y, th e Me trop o litan of H alych and Archbishop of Lvi v. 6 With th e withdraw a.l of th e Rus sian s in 1915 , th e prelate was abl e to return to his See. Sh o rtly thereafter, Russian socie ty and a good part of Ukrain e were devo ure d by Marxist socialism, th e worst enem y of th e Church and of Chris ti an Civilizati o n .

T he Uk raini an trage d y pl aces th e na ture of th e V a tic an Os tp olitik in extrao rdin ary relie f.

Within th e limits imp ose d b y a m os t ferve nt adhe sio n to th e Pa pacy, we shall sec h ow to resolve th e complex ities to whi ch th e evide nc e of th e facts gives rise, compl ex ities that are by no m eans sm all. We believe that it is necessar y to ale rt Western public opinion to th e fa ct that th e traged y of Ukrainian Ca th olics has e normous importanc e for th e future o f Wes tern civiliza tion. Having thu s defin ed th e ambit o f o ur stud y, we wish al so to pay h o m age t o th e Ukrainia n m artyrs and to those wh o suffe r p ersecution in silenc e and in th e midst of th e coldness and ignorance of vast sectors of th e Wes tern world. Once th eir drama is placed in a p erspective that shows its full importance, th ey

' THE UKRAINIAN TRAGEDY TAKES ON UNIVERSAL DIMENSIONS In spite o f th e hi st orical, national , and spe cifi c ecc lesias tical probl ems whi ch co ntinu e to be of area t interes t and importance in th e prese nt Ukrain t> ian situ a tion , we shall fo cus thi s essay on Com muni sm - anti -Co mmunism , so vital at th e prese nt mo m e nt. We wi sh to emph as ize, neverth eless, as we brin g this wh o le se ries of pro bl ems into th i,s fo cus, th e ex trao rdin aril y weight y rol e th at th e p osi ti o n o f o ffi cial Vatic an dipl o m acy pl ay s in all o f this.

As is well known , th e future de pends ver y mu ch o n th e orientati on whi ch th e 650 milli o n Ca th o li cs o f th e w o rld h ave in th e fac e of C om muni sm . And in th e case o f th e Ukraini an C ath oli c Church , Va tican dipl o m acy ac ts and see ks to inCa th oli cs in res pec t t o th is ca pital m a tter fl ue n Cc b e mpl oy in g rul es wh ic h_ reveal th em se l~es with Y. t ¡ ]lin e c la rit y . F or thi s reaso n , we beli eve th a t a ct y s a . . . l situ a t10n co n fers a universa l mte res t on a th e ac tu ¡ th e U k ra ini an case .

Nykyta Budka . Au xiliary Bishop of Lvi v, in Western Ukraine . Died in Russian concentration camp on Oct. 6, 1969, a martyr for the Faith.

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are seen to be tru e heroes of the univers al Church and worthy examp les for th e whole hum an rac e of resistance t o th e infernal Marxist t yranny.

"WE ARE ENTERING THE FIRST PHASE OF COMMUNISM: SOCIALISM "

Wes tern Ukraine, which has a large Uniate popula tion , cam e under the control of Pol and at th e end of th e First World War. Soon terrible reports b egan to arrive from the E as tern sector which was under the dom inatio n of Communist Ru ss ia.

A shockin g dr am a was unfoldin g th ere. After th e blood y war betwee n th e Whites and the Reds which las ted until 1920, th e Bolshevik State m ade th e country trembl e b y liguid ating th e anti-Communists en masse . And in th e nex t two years , th e Reds bega n to collectivize the countryside. Moscow se nt Bolshevik emis sari es, backe d up by th e Re d Arm y, to reguisi tion all of th e cereals produced in fertile Ukraine. Althou gh the h arves ts were abundant , a grea t famine e nsu ed as a result of th eir being completely removed from the country . A telegram of Len in attes ts th at the h arves ts were excell ent , but th a t they were co nfis ca ted.

Th e fami ne was suc h th at in Kh ersun , for exam ple, 85 perce nt of th e inh abit ants died in 1921-22 . 7

aime d at haste nin g th e process of collectivization, was indescribabl y worse than th e previous on e.

Th e Red Army confiscated th e en tire rural production. Th e numb er of victims reac hed 7 million dead, according to th e most modest calculations.

And th e most dantes gu e sce nes of de spair and m ad ness occurred . In order to control th e desperate popula tion , the Marxis ts crea ted enormous co nc entration camps. Many villages disappeare d.

This was, without doubt , one of th e greatest slaughters in history . 8 At th a t tim e, Me tropolitan Count Sh ep ty tsky durin g th e very midst of th e famine made th e following appeal to th e world in 1933: " We already see th e conseg uences of th e Communist regime: each day it bec omes more frightening. The sight of th ese crim es horrifies hum an nature and makes one's blood run cold. Bein g unable to ex tend material aid t o our d yi ng broth ers, we implore th e faithful to b eseec h from Heave n b y th eir pra yers, fasts, mortifica tions and all other works, divin e assistance. Furthermore we protes t before th e whole world against th e persecu tion of childre n, th e poor, th e sick and th e innocent. On the other hand , w e summon th e persec ut ors before th e Tribun al o f almighty God. The blood of fam ishe d an d enslave d lab o rers wh o t ill the soil of Ukraine - cries to heaven for vengeanc e, and th e plaint of th e half-starve d reapers has reached G o d in Heave n. " 9 With a sa rdonic burst of laughter, th e Communis ts raise d , on th at very occasion , a triumphal arch in th e city of Kirivohran with th e words: " We are e nterin g into th e first ph ase of Communism: Socialism." Around the arch la y doze ns o f bodies of peasants who h ad di e d of hun ge r. 10

By thi s m ean s, Lenin so ught to put an end to th e sentim e nt by whi ch priva te propert y was held in high regard among th e far mers. The resis tance to coll ec tivizat ion gave ri se to bl oo d y repress ion s, massive d eportations, and more fami ne. In sh o rt , th e Re ds imposed th e communization of socie ty by forc e with the coldes t and cruelest m a terialist cy111c1sm.

In th e beginning of th e decade of th e 30 's, th e p o litical neces sities of Communism brou ght ab ou t ano th er art ificial famin e in Ukraine . This on e, 8

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THE COMMUNIST SCOURGE IN WESTERN UKRAINE

In th e very c it y o f Brest where th e Uniates had return ed to th e Catholic Church , Naz iism and Communism sign e d in 1939 a pact o f collaboration in which th ey agree d upon th e partition of P oland.

Acco rdin gly, Soviet tank s moved in and Russian forces occupied Wes te rn Ukrain e, a part of th e co untry having a de nse Uni a te population. Fore see in g b y a premonition th e difficult tim es that were approac hin g, Me tropolitan Sheptytsky selec-

Me trop olitan Count Sheptytsky: "We summon th e persecutors before the Tribunal of almighty God. The blood of the famished and enslaved laborers who till the soil in Uleraine, - cries to heaven for vengeance, ... "

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~

·.:~~"V': . .i · . .~. ~ ·:\ •·i""7

: ~:. . t i.' ~.-:.-,

Catholic churches transformed into antireligious museums (Church of Domi nican Order in Lviv at left and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at upper right) . Lower right: Church of Redemptorist fathers demolished by the authorities in 1962.

ted a brilliant successor of in tegrity, Monsignor Slip yj. He secretly consecrated him Coadjutor Bishop of Lviv with the right of succession, on Dece mber 21, 1939. Th e Communists were marking time and avoiding an open clash wi th the Uniate Church for fear of the people. But this did not preve nt them from confiscating man y properties of the Church and imposing many restrictions on it.

Meanwhil e, th ey were already devising a way to destroy the Uniate Church by employing a method of controlling its religious institutions from within. They had alre ady ach ieved notable successes with th e russian orthodox church (from here on we will call it the ROC). On th e basis of thi s experience, th ey aime d, purely and simply, to eliminate the Ukrainian Uniate Church, in an attempt to give the character of a religious dispute to th at which was in reality an anti-religious persec ution.

It has bee n known for ~ long time that the ROC is a most useful in strum ent of Russian Communi st prop agand a. Sergi us , the Metropolitan of Moscow, has notably distinguished himself as such an instrument. By 1927,hehadalreadymade 10

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Nicholas Charneckyi, Apostolic Visitor of Volnyn ia. Died after 12 years of imprisonment on Feb . 4, 1959.

Confessor of the Faith.

a declaration 9f total obedience to the Communist regime. And in 1928 , he declared, "the joys and th e victories qf th e Soviet Union are also our joys and our victories." In a book that he published in the middle of the World War, he affirmed that "there never y,,ere any persons persecuted in th e Soviet Union 911 account of reliP'ion."

For his servo ices to the Communist cause , Stalin rewarded him by restoring th e titl e of " Patriarch of Moscow" to him in 1943. All of this demonstrates th e absol ute control exercise d over this religious structure by Communist pc,wer. And in this respect it behooves us to recall that the Bolsheviks had assassinated the former P<1,triarch Tikhon, 32 bishops, nearly 40,000 eccles\astics, an d thousands of the faithful of the ROC. 11 The Ukraip.ian Catholic Church has bee n the object of vario us tactics among those employed by the Communists to gain control of th e ecclesiastical struct4res. After a period of domin ation

by Nazi troo ps from 1941 t o 1944, Ukraine was reconquere d l;,y th e Russians in 1944. While the situation was unstable, the Communists limited themselves to morally offending against th e Cath-

olic prela tes and t o m akin g prop aganda again st th em . H o weve r , a n ew t ac tic was intr o du ce d w ith th e d ea th o f Me trop o litan Co unt Shep t y tsky on N ove mb er 1 , 19 4 4 and th e su ccession o f Msgr.

Slip yj ; th en Moscow imm edi at ely put th e ROC . · 12 111to action.

At th e beginnin g o f 194 5 , Alekse i, the " Pa triarch " of Mosc ow and su ccess or of Sergius , sent a le tte r t o Msgr. Slip yj , wh ich w as widely d issemin at e d b y th e Co mmunists. In thi s le tter , Al ekse i call e d o n Ukraini an Cath oli cs t o a pos ta ti ze fr o m th e Ca th o li c fa ith and j o in th e R OC. N a turall y, his app eal was rej ec ted . 13 Th e o ffe nsive of th e Co mmuni st Par ty a nd th e ROC w as n o t lon g in com ing. O n April 8 , 194 5 , a ce rt ain V olo dy m yr R os o ycyc publ ish ed a m os t vio lent ar ti cle agai nst th e Ukrai nian Ca th olics in th e Com m u ni st j ou rn al Vi lna Uc raina in Lviv. O n th e 11th o f th a t sam e month , Msgr. Slip yj and fo ur more Bish o ps were

sudd enl y im pri soned w ith o ut an y ex plana ti o n.

T he o t he r m emb ers of the E piscopa te were all take n priso ner sh or tl y th ereafter. O n ce th ey had b ee n impri so ned , th ese Bish o ps were presse d t o a p os t ati ze , and th e Co mmuni sts even w ent so far as t o o ffer Msgr. Slip yj th e office of " Patriarc h " o f Kiev under th e ROC. However, th e w h ole Ep is14

co pa te re m ai ned fa ithful.

At th e same tim e, th ere w e re m ass ive im pri son m e nts of Ca th oli cs, includin g; th o usand s o f pries ts, m onks, an d n un s, as well as layme n b elo ngin g t o Ca th olic organ iza ti o ns.

Sh or tl y th ereaft er , a group of a pos ta te Ca th oli c p riests , w h o we re b anded to~e t her in a t in y asso ci a t io n calle d th e " Ac ti on G rou p ," began nego ti a ti ons aim e d at " unit ing" Uk rai ni an Cat h olicism to the " Pa tria rch a te o f Moscow ." Alrea d y towa rd th e e nd o f 1945, th e R OC bega n t o occ u py the see s of t he im pri so ned Cat h olic Bish ops . 15 Hav in g been give n prestige b y th e Com muni st regim e, th e " A c ti o n Gro up " o rgani ze d a pse ud osy n o d (So b or) in Lviv w here onl y 2 16 Ca th oli c p ri es ts - of a t otal of nearly 3000 - and 19 layme n d ec lare d th e U nio n o f Bres t "ab olis he d" and as ke d t o b e in co rp o ra t ed into th e ROC . It is n o t necessary for us to demon strate th e fl agrant ill egitimacy of th is "Sy n od" in w hi ch n o Bish op pa r t ic ipate d and w h ic h had bee n organi zed by 16 some pr ie s ts w h o we re n o lo nge r even Ca th o li cs.

A si mil ar p roce du re was u se d in Carp a th oUkraine . '·annu llin g" t he U ni o n o f Uz hh oro d . It is

wor th n o tin g th at th e sam e tac t ic was use d aga inst th e Ru manian Ca th oli c Unia tes tlu· o ugh th e pse ud osy nod of Alb a Jul ia in 1948, at whi ch a sm all n um be r o f apos ta te pries ts "an null ed " th e Uni o n 1698.

In order prop erly t o eval ut at e th e spirit th a t m ove d th ese a pos t ate pries ts in Ukraine, it w ill b e su ffic ie nt for u s t o consider a passage fro m th e d o cu me nt tha t Fa th er Kos teln y k, th eir lea d er , se nt to th e Sov ie t auth orities. This d o cum ent , in whi ch he co mmuni ca ted to th em th e fac t o f th e suppressio n of th e U nio n of Bres t , carr ies th e da te May 29, 1945, an d co ntain s th ese word s: " under th e di rec tion of th eir fir st Marshal , th e in c om parable Stalin , th e b rave and m agnifice nt Soviet army cove re d itse lf w ith im m o r tal glo ry; it des troye d th e Hitleri an arm y and save d Eu ro pe fr om the fri ghtful Nazi d omin a ti o n and all th e Slavic peo ples from perditi o n . Th e old dream s o f th e Ukrainian s have bee n realize d : all th e Ukra ini an land s h ave b ee n reunited t o th e Mo th erl and . G reat Ukrai ne rises u p in a pa tern al uni o n w ith Moscow and w ith all th e Sovie t p eo ple s; it n ow h as full sec urity and all th e p oss ibilities o f a sple ndid d eve lo pm e nt. Marshal Stalin w ill e nte r int o th e hist o ry of e te rnit y as the m an wh o u nited th e U kr aini an lands . All o f t he Wes te rn U kraini an s th ank him w ith th e greatest co rdi alit y, fo r we will neve r be able suffi cientl y to repay o ur m ora l d ebt t o t his Sov ie t gove rn me n t .

Nik ita Khru sh chev, Pres ident of th e Co un cil o f Com missars o f th e Peo ple o f Uk ra ine, also dese rves grea t credit for th e unifica ti o n o f Ukrain e .. . We have t otal co nfiden ce in th e Sov ie t gove rnm e nt.

We w ish t o wo rk fo r th e goo d of o ur o rth o d ox lan d . .. " 17 However, it sh o uld be n o t ed for th e gl o r y of t he Ca th oli c cl ergy of Ukrain e th a t in spi te of all press u res, impriso n me nts, and t o rtures, th e Com muni sts succee de d in get tin g o nl y 42 p ries ts t o affili a te th em se lves t o th e co mm i ttee of F a th er Koste ln y k. In th e re press io n th a t occ urre d afte rward s, d oze n s of pries ts we re shot. and hundre d s we re im prisone d and de po rte d t o co nce ntr ati o n ca m ps as w e h ave alrea d y see n . 18 S h o rtl y aft er th e pse ud o-sy no d o f Lviv, th e imp riso ne d Ca th olic Bish ops we re se nte nce d in a secre t tr ib u n al in Jun e of 1946. 19 In the fa ce o f thi s sit uat io n . th e Cat h o lic Ca n o ns o f Lviv elec ted a Ca pitular Vi ca r fo r th e Arc h d iocese. He was im media tely im pri so ne d .

CRUSADE

11

Gregory Komyshyn , Bishop of Stanyslav iv .

Died in prison, Jan. 17, 1947.

Josaphat Kotsylows ky, OSBM, Bi shop of Peremyshl. Died in confine ment in Kiev, Aug. 21, 1947.

Moreover, the one who was elect ed to follow him in this post was also imprisoned.

Msgr. Slipyj was th e only Bishop who survived, and this was after havi ng suffered 18 years of cru el tortures, and forced labor. He was n o t liberated until 1963. Upon b eing released , he had to move to Rome, at which place he was subjec t to vari o us conditions, including th at h e not spea k again st Communism. It was learn ed la ter th at th e Vatican had acce pted these conditions without consulting th e Cardinal ; thus , it forc ed th e Archbishop, who desired to re turn to hi s see in Lviv, to leave Ukrain e. 20 Meanwhile, the persec ution was inten sifie d in Ukraine . All of the Catholic monasteries and convents were close d, and all of th e churches were p asse d over to th e ROC . On J an uary 1, 1948, the Soviet news agency Tass published a communiqu e declaring that th e Ukraini an Catholic Church h ad not only lost its legal existenc e but for a long tim e already " h ad ceased· to exis t. " 2 1

Ivan Latyshev sky, Au x iliary Bishop of Stanyslaviv .

Di ed after 10 years impri sonment on Dec . 2, 1957.

•

~

~)

."

Pau l Goydych, OSBM, Bishop of Pryashiv.

D ied in prison, July 19, 1960 .

·.r ·~:

(;,}t~t~i)

It is interesting to n o te th a t eve n che pries ts who had led the apostasy were a sh o rt time later murdered by th e Communists th emselves . 22 IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE, THE FAITH FLOURISHES T h e ill egal state of Cath oli cism in Ukrain e gives the Churc h a ve ry spec ial releva nc e . The part o f th e cl ergy th at was n ot imprisoned we nt into hidin g. A certain numb er apostatiz ed b y e ntering

12

CR USADE

Cardin al Slipyj dur ing his confin ement in Ru ss ia. This photograph was taken in 1960.

the ROC. There are more than 5 million Catholic people, and most of these passively resist by discriminating betwee n the faithful clergy of th e catacombs and th e renegades .23 In spite of the great danger , the faithful Church of the catacombs continues to distribute the sacraments and to celebrate Mass clandes tinel y yea r after year. It is calculated that there are more than 300 priests in the catacombs , as well as some Bishops who h ave been secre tly consecrated. It has been noted th at man y apostate pries ts sec retl y sympathize with the Uniate Church , and th e Communist Press has shown concern about th e fact.

Indee d , some have been imprisoned for hiding prie sts from the catacombs . 24 In addition, th ere are clandestine religious communities, which while le ading a precarious and continuously threatened ex istence, have non eth eless m anaged to organize n ovitia tes and regul ar religiou s services . When there are n o priests, which is freguent, the faithfu l gather together in private houses or in de se rted woods to recite Matins or V es pers on Sund ays and Holy Days .25 Groups of priests who hav e naively asked the Russian government to apply the letter of certain Sovie t laws on religious free dom have bee n imprisoned and d eported .

Even today, hundreds of thousands o f Ukrainian Catholics are still veget ating in the prisons and slave lab or cam ps, es pec iall y in Siberia . 26 The effect of famine , mass imprisonments, and war was such that th e population of Western Ukraine in 1970 was less than it h ad bee n in 27 1931.

OBSTACLES AND SILENCES: THE ROLE OF THE VATICAN Jn his essay Th e Churclt and the Co111m1mist State: the Impossib le Coexis tence, Profe ssor Plinio Correa de Oliveira , Professor of th e Cat holi c University of Sao Paulo , demonstrates that eve n th ough a Communist State permitted th e free distribution of th e Sacrame nts and th e celebration of worship , it is not moral for th e Church to es tabli sh a coll aboration o r a "modus vivendi" with a Communist regim e. This isso because the Catholic do c trines on the family and private proper t y are direc tly lin ked to the high es t and most immutable

moral principles and to the Commandments of the Law of God. For this reas on, the Church cannot be silent in th e face of the errors of the Comm unist doc trin e in these matters . 28 Until th e beginning of the dec ade of th e 60's, the V atican fregu entl y alerted th e faithful about the errors and dangers of Communism, eve n going so far as to condemn th e tactic of " peace ful coexistence" which was a pallid prefigure of the scandalous detente of today. Pope Pius Xll publish ed two encyclicals (O rieutalcs O,nn es and Orientales Ec clesias) about the sad situati o n of th e Ukrainian Catholic Church in which he pro tes ted energetically against the persec ution . And this sa me Po ntiff, on the occasion of th e celebration of th e mill enium of the baptism of th e Grand Princess St. Olha, directe d a memorable apostolic le tter to Msgr. Slip yj, who was th en in prison , protes tin g o nce more against th e persecution of th e Uniate Church. 29 Significantl y, th e V a tican , up until that very time , was violently attacked by th e propaganda machin e of the Kremlin and by th e "Patriarchate of Moscow, " if one can give this name to the ecclesiastical agency of the Russian Communist Party .

Alt hough we wil l not attempt to give a com ple te acco unt of th e vast and si nuou s history of the Vatican Ostpolitik here , it is, nonethel ess, necessary to pay attention to some of its general lines of development which arc closely related t o th e Ukrainian Catholic Church.

These concern mainly th e rela ti ons with th e ROC. In analyzing th ese relation s, it is important to keep in mind th e words of th e " Patriarch of Moscow" Al eksei: "The Ru ssia n Orthodox Church whol ely supports th e fore ign polic y of our government." There are doz ens of exa mples of ac ti ons and declaratio ns by members of the ROC which corroborate th e confession of th e late Ale ks ei. 3 0 Wh en Pimen, hi s succ essor, appeared before the World Council o f Churches in Geneva , h e attacked those who criticized th e USSR as being blind to th e merits of th e socialist system and said that th e social evils so characteristic of the life of m an y people tod ay ca nnot e xist in our socialist structure. 3 1 As we have said, it was common for the ROC to attack th e Vatican. H owever, in November CRUSADE

13

1961 , when th e Russian leader Khrushchev con gratulated Pop e John XXIII on his eightieth birthday, everything began to change. ln Augu st of 1962 , th e then Msgr. Will e brands, who as w e shall soon see would later play a sad role in Moscow , was at that time preparing for the participation of th e Muscovite prela tes of the ROC in the Second V a tican Council in Rom e. V arious authors rem arked - and the facts confirm thi s - ch a t the negotiations for the participation of the ROC in th e Council were carried out on th e b as is o f th e Sovie t condition th a t Communism would neith er be a ttacked nor condemn ed th ere . 32 Acting on an initia tive of Msgr. Castro Mayer, Bishop of Campos in Brazil , nearly 400 Bishops sent a pe tition in 1965 , aski ng th e Council t o condemn Communism. But b y a m an e uver , which was not very upright on th e part of th e Sec retary of the Council, th e pe titi o n was neith er presented nor submitted to th e Council for a vote, omissions which were contrary to th e ver y regulations of th e CounciI. 33 Th e prese nce o f th e Mus cov it es in th e V a tic an w as, m o reove r , a tru e guarantee that chis unc om fortabl e pe titi o n would n o t b e hee ded.

Th ey th emse lves confessed a t the Pan-Orthodox Conference of Rhodes in 1964 th a t sile n ce ab o ut Communism was a condition "s ine g u a n o n " fo r th eir re m ai ning a t th e Council. 34 This was th e b egi nning of a lon g list of unil ateral concessions on th e part of the Va tican . It was also o ne o f th e most impressive victories o f Russian Communism. Rom e did not say even on e word in favor of th e Ukrainian Uni a te Catholics who co ntinu e t o be brutall y pers ec ut e d b y th e ROC precisely because th ey are rem ai nin g faithful t o Rome ...

sia ns in th e Vatican O stpolitik is the diffusion of soc ialist ideo lo gy a m o ng Ca tholic s. le m ay al so be see n th at in harmony with that. th e Ostpolitik fa vors o nl y prelates wh o are favo rabl e to Communi sm, as h as b ee n sh ow n rece ntl y in th e cases of Hungary and Lithu a ni a. Given thi s unit y of policies . it is evide nt that those w ho are not favored b y th e Ostpolitik are treated th e way that th ey a re because thev a re n o t favorable to Communism.

This ex plain s to a grea t ex t e nt th e esse nce and im po rt an ce of th e dram a o f th e Ukrainian Church.

Inte rn a tion al C o mmunism nee ds to eliminate th e ob st acl es that stand in th e way of its domin a tion of th e world . Although th e Vatican O stpolitik is a favorable factor, th e Ukrainian Unia te Church is an obstacle. For chis reason , th e V a tican no lon ge r defe nds it n or inte rc edes for it s mart y rs.

After th e Co uncil. th e co nt ac ts be twee n th e V a ti can and th e ROC w e re inte nsifie d more and m ore. In 1975 , an ec um e ni cal mee tin g in which Nikodim w as prese nt was h eld in Tre nt , It aly; the final j oi nt d eclaration o f th e mee tin g was a n ill di sgui se d call to th e Christians of th e world to e mbrace socialisrn. 36 Shortl y aft e rward s Paul VI authori ze d th e ce le bra tion of a liturgy of th e ROC o n th e to mb of St. Pe ter pres ide d ove r b y Nikodim h im se l f. 3 7 It is against this bac k gro und th a t one mu st co nsider th e a ttitude of Cardinal Willebrands in 1971 a t th e e nthronin g of Pim e n as th e 'Patri arch ' o f Moscow . In hi s se rmon , Pim e n. speakin g in a victorious ton e, reite ra ted th e total des tructi o n of th e Ukrainian Ca tholi c Church th e "e nd " of th e Uni o n o f Bres t , an d , accordin t,a-, to his ow n word s, the " triumph al re turn t o th e ROC. " Ca rdin al Willebra nds, wh o was presen t as an offic ial rep rese nta ti ve of th e V a ti can, did n o t m a ke a n y objec ti on, n or did he pro tes t at th a t m om e nt or la ter in spite of th e innum e rabl e protes ts caused by hi s sil e nce . Now , th e n, in a m a tte r as grave as thi s, he who is sil e nt co nse nts.:rn

Nikodim, Me trop o lita n of th e ROC of Leningrad, h ad th e n erve t o declare, co ntra ry t o all the ev ide n ce, th at "in the USSR believe rs e njoy the same rights as other citize ns." Nikodim, who is onl y 38 yea rs old, achieved a rapid a nd brillia nt caree r in th e ROC under th e ausp ices of Aleksei, after he had finished hi s sem inary training by m ea ns of a corres p o nden ce co urse ! ln an ec um e ni cal meeting in Lenin gr ad on "Ca th oli c Social Thinkin g," h e declared that n ow th e Cat h olic Ch ur c h

Accordingl y, the facts demo nstra te th a t th e Vatican reserves th e grea tes t ho m ages . eve n th e alt ar of St. Pe te r, fo r th e ROC , which is controll e d b y th e Communist athe ists. At th e sa me ti me, it m aintains a revea lin g sil e n ce in res pec t to th e

acce pts "a public form of proper ty such as is exem plifie d b y socialism of the Soviet typ e."'.)S One sees by thi s th at th e true interes t of th e Rus-

precio us m e mb ers of the Mys ti cal Bod y of Chr ist that a re th e m arty rs of th e Ukraini an Catholic Church.

14

CRUSADE

Bishop Vasyl Vely chkovsky of Lutsk, secretly ordained in 1963; imprisoned by the Soviet authorities during 1945-55 and 1969-72; released from the USSR in 1972, died in Winnipeg, Canada, in July 1973.

Photo from th e A rchives of I. Sy roty nsky.

An o th er signific ant fac t is th e treatm ent given in Rom e to Msgr. Vel yc hkovsk y, a Bish o p in Ukraine wh o h ad , because o f th e perse cution , bee n co nsec rate d th ere secre tl y. After h avin g spent m any years in prison , this Bishop , who was alread y ve ry sick , was free d by th e Communists. Up o n visiting th e Vatican, he w as trea ted by th e o fficial auth o rities as though he were a simple pries t.

L 'Osse nJa t o re R omano and th e Pon tifical Annual acted in th e sam e m ann er. This b eh avi o r is not diffi cult t o understand , since t o recognize hi m as a Unia te Bish o p wh o ac ted in Ukraine w ould am o unt t o recogni zin g th e ac tu al ex istence of th e heroic Ca th olic Church of th e Ca tacomb s and , th ere fore, to n o t recognizin g th e inco rp o ra tion o f th e Uni a tes int o th e ROC . O bvio usly, this w ould n o t please t h e Krem lin , and , the re fore, it was n o t d o ne .39 In this case also, th e Ostp olitik reveals itself in all of its anguish-causing realit y. T he sup eri or o f th e ROC for Ukrai ne is the Exarch F il are t. Now , th en , it was this " prela te" wh o b y ac tin g with th e Com mu n ist KGB had m anage d to di scover and arres t Bi sh o p Velyc hk ovs ky, wh o suffere d barb aro u s to rtures and mistrea tm e nts du rin g hi s lo ng impr iso nme nt. No t o nl y we re t he re n o pro tes ts again st thi s fac t in th e V ati can , but a ft er it h ad h a p pe ned , thi s sam e F ilare t was th e gues t of h o n o r o f th e Po ntifi cal Collegium R uss icum of R om e an d was rece ive d b y t he Secre tari at for th e Un ion of Ch ris tians with all o f the hon ors in vogue . The h eroic .B ish o p Velyc h kovs ky did n ot rece ive an y of th ese h o n ors and die d sh o rtl y th erea fter in Can a da.40 A d o ubl e standard . ..

In 197 1, Filare t pres ided over j oy ful cele brati o ns of th e " aboliti o n" o f th e Uni o ns of Bres t and Uzhh o rod. So me wee ks later , in Zago rsk, th ere was a sy n od o f th e ROC which re pea te d th ese celebra ti o ns fo r th e des tru c ti on o f th e Ukraini an Ca th oli c Church . Symb olical ly, in this same loc ality o f Zagorsk , an ec um e nical mee ting w as held in 19 73 be twee n emis saries o f th e V a tican and th e R OC. Th e th eme of th e meeting w as " Th e Church in a world in tra nsform ati o n. " Eul ogies we re m ade of th e soc ialist regi me. H oweve r , th e delegates o f th e V a tican did no t say a si ngle w o rd about th e Uk raini an Catholics. 4 1 Th e interes t o f th e V a ti can Os tp olitik in favo rin g th e Ru ss ian Co mmunist gove rnm e nt can b e cl ass ifie d as true ze al . F o r example, F ath er Paul Mailleu x, S.J. , of th e V a tican Congregation fo r th e Oriental Rites and Rec tor of th e Po ntifical Collegium Ru ssicum (wh o had earn ed th e nic kname o f th e " R ed prie st "), wrote a m em o ran dum which, as F ath er Floridi , S.J. , says, revealed n o sec re ts but c onfirm ed th e impressive Rus sophil te nden cy in th e prese nt R o ma n Curia . ln thi s docum e nt , F ath er Maille ux, S.J. , declares ~h at th e Uk rainian Patriarch ate should n o t b e institut ed because th e Sovie ts c o uld co nsider it to be a " h os tile inter fe renc e in th e inte rn al a ffa irs o f th e USSR. " 42 Mea nwhile, accordin g to the w riter Dari a Ku zy k , th e It alian police discove red an intern ati o nal ne tw o rk of Ru ss ian Co mmunist es pi on age within th e very Po ntifical Collegium Ru ss icum of F a th er Mailleu x, S.J. By ac tin g rapidl y, th e V atican sm oo th ed eve ry thin g ove r so th a t the investiga ti o ns w o uld not co ntinu e and so th a t n o thin g wo uld be reveale d .43 Th is zeal n o t to beco me guilt y of a hos til e inte rfere nc e in th e intern al a ffairs o f th e USSR is no t m ani fes te d in favo r e ith er o f the Cath oli c Church or th e co untri es of th e Wes t wh en th e inte r fe rence is in th e o ppos ite direc ti o n. F o r exam ple, after th e solemn co nsecra ti o n o f th e new Ukrainian Ca tholi c Church o f Sanc ta So phia in th e Eternal City, th e a foreme ntion e d Nik odim trave le d im me di a tely to Ro me . Up o n arrival, he a ffi rmed th a t th e act preside d over b y Cardinal Slip yj w as contrary t o th e ecu me nical di alogue and th a t it sh ould not be re peated . On th at sam e occasio n, h e said th at th e Ukrainian Cath olic CRUSADE

15

44

Church should be eliminated in the West also.

Acting in the spirit of that injunction, the ROC set up a Vicarate of the Metropolitan of Kiev to "govern" the parishes of the Ukrainian Church (under the ROC) in Canada and the United States, which represented a true interference by the Russians in the internal affairs of churches in nations of the West. 45 Also significant in this respect was a recent occurrence in which "Patriarch" Pim en demanded that the German Federal government recognize, as property of the Russian State, the churches of the ROC situated in different cities of West Germany, churches which are independent of Moscow and anti-communist. 4 6 The outlook is for a repetition of facts like this recent one, which constitute a true interference. This kind of interference, coupled within the whole picture, gradually imposes ever greater concessions from the Vatican, which up until now has been accepting them.

Moreover, the silence which the Vatican has observed in regard to the persecutions against Catholics in order not to "interfere in the internal affairs of the USSR" takes on an even greater significance when it is com pared with the actions of a great part of the ecclesiastical structures of the West making, under the conductor's wand of the Vatican, noisy propaganda against anti-communist countries without any scruples about "interfering" in th eir in tern al affairs . In general, this interference is carried out in favor of the "human rights" of terrorists and Communist agitators, which are supposedly being threatened.

And on occasions, this interference goes even farther, such as is the case with the Episcopate of the United States, which in a forceful note asked that an end be made to the economic blockade of Cuba, that nation which is the great "interferer" par excellence on the con tin en ts of North and Sou th America and even in Africa. 4 7 Even the international liberal press has commented on the scandalous attitude of the Vatican; thus N ewsweek affirmed "the Vatican appears to be ready to sacrifice the union of 5 million Cath 16

CRUSADE

olics of the Ukrainian Rite within the Soviet Union." 48 Recently, the friendly contacts between the Vatican and the ROC have become intensified. For example, on July 13, 1975, shortly after having received the Soviet minister Gromyko, Paul VI received Nikodim warmly and extended his congratulations to "His Holiness," the "Patriarch" of Moscow, Pimen . Moreover, the journeys of Vatican emissaries to Moscow and of emissaries of the Kremlin and the ROC to Rome have been frequent. 49 In this perspective, we perceive the true reason why the Vatican has not reconsidered its negative attitude toward the reiterated and well-founded petition of the Ukrainian Catholics for the institution of a Patriarchate as a means of conserving and developing the Ukrainian Catholic Church. It is that such a Patriarchate would inevitably have an anti-communist orientation and, therefore, would provide a reinforcement of the Ukrainian Catholic Resistance to the ROC and to Communism, which is precisely what Rome wishes to avoid at all costs. 50 We must emphasize, moreover, that all of the faithful of the various Catholic Oriental Patriarchates do not comprise more than 3 million, whereas there are nearly 7 million Catholics of the Ukrainian Rite in the world.

In addition to this fact, the Vatican, as though it was being guided by the designs of Pimen, has constantly created obstacles to the internal life of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the West, alleging supposed advantages that the Russians would concede in return. The eminent figure of Cardinal Slipyj has been greatly affected by the continuous raising of obstacles to his pastoral work; the Vatican has even gone so far as to prohibit him from leaving Rome to visit Ukrainian communities on various occasions, in this way treating him as if he were a prisoner. 51 All of these injustices produce the most serious perplexities among the Ukrainian faithful. This is shown, for example, by the signs which a group of Ukrainian Catholic protestors carried before the residence of the Apostolic Delegate in Wahington, which displayed phrases such as the following : "The Vatican policy of surrenders is a continuous scandal," "don't persecute our Bishops," and "the dialogue between the Vatican and Moscow will lead to catastrophe. " 52

The Ukrainians know that nothing would please Moscow more than th eir general apostasy from the Holy Church. H oweve r , the y h ave an unbre akable faith and are profoundl y faithful to the Papacy for which so m any of th eir an ces tors and their contemporaries h ave shed their blood. It is with sadn ess and shock that the y se nse that the present authorities in th e V atican would d o nothing to prevent such ,m apostasy because th ey consider th e Ukrainians to be an "obstacle" t o 53 dialogu e with th e ROC and th e Kremlin .

It ap pears th at this tragic situation is also perceived by the faithful of the Catacombs inside Ukrain e. Acc o rding to information coming from travelers, th e general mood among th em is th e one synthesized by th e m agazine The Uk rainian He rald, which circula tes cl andestin ely : " We brin g you some exampl es of th e iniguities perp etrated by the regime against th e Catholic faithful in Lviv.

But h ow m an y others must th ere b e all over Wes tern Ukraine ? Perhap s God alo ne kn ow s. Th e o nly thing th at surprises us is th at th e Va tic an administration h as forgotten th e Ukrainian part o f its fl ock bei ng torn to bits by ferocious wolv es .

Must it not have sunk too dee ply into its pragm atic and materialist poli cies."

At th e same t ime, it is known that th e Ukrain ian orthodox people have grea t sympath y for the Unia te Catholics an d for th e in stituti on of th ei r Patriarch ate. Undoubtedly, Moscow fears th at th ey will convert t o Cath olicism, as th ey witness th e heroic resistance of th e Catholics and com pare it with th e abjec t subj ec ti o n of th e R OC to th e a th eis ts o f th e Kre mlin. There are vario us tes timonies which favor this, es pec iall y th at of th e we ll -k n own Ukrainian writer V. Moroz, w h o is not

Deported into Siberia ...

THE PERSECUTION REVIVES

lated Catholic Ukraine. Th e facts which demon strate this are innumerable. The cl andes tin e journal, Th e Chron icle of Curren t Events, rep or ted in 1969 th at th e underground Ukrainian Catholic Church_ " has bee n more ac tive in recent years but th at the numb er of priests who h ave been imprisoned and mistreated by th e police has grown." Severe pe na.lties of imprisonm en t are impose d o n anyo ne attending a Uni ate Catholic Mass .

After 1968, Filaret initi ate d a new offensive by convoking a m eeti ng of th e ROC and aski ng for a " more effec tive" ac tion b y th e Soviet gove rnm ent to elimin a te th e remnants of th e Catholic Church in Ukraine. 5 7 In a rece nt m ee tin g of th e Politburo of th e Communist Part y of Ukraine , th e Marxis t Malanchuk recognized th a t th e Ukrainian Uniate Catho li c Church has n o t bee n entirely ex termin a ted, and as ke d that th e Party dedicate more time to its work aga in st thi s Church. 58 Pe rhaps some ingenuous minds still believe th a t th e rap proch eme nt be twee n th e Vatic an and the Commu ni st gove rnm ents is being carried o ut in order to allevia te th e conditions of th e Cat h oli cs of th e Church of Silence. And there m ay be o th ers who think th a t th e only aim of this polic y is t o favor th e Latin Rite over the By zantin e Rite. For this reason, we consider it adva nt ageous to dem o nstra te th a t the se ideas do not corresp o nd to th e realit y . Tw o points m ay be swi ftl y made . Behind th e Iro n C urt ain , th e Catholic Church o f th e Latin Rite also suffers from th e revival of th e persec ution . And as we h ave already seen in the case of

ln the la st te n years, in sp ite of th e w h ole Ostpolitik o r perhaps because of it , new Co mmunist pe rsec utions have b ee n unl eas hed over deso-

the Uk rainian Rite , th e pre text of helpin g the Uniate Ca th oli cs has only serve d , in fact, to favo r the Marx ist cause . But let u s look rapidly at some e,ÂŤm1p les in o th er ca pti ve nations.

a Uni a te Catholic and who is n ow unde ro-oinoim b b prisonmen t a t th e hand s o f th e Sov iet autho riti es . 55 Th e Soviet press re fl ec ts this fear when it treats th e matter. As a co nse gu enc e, w e find , with pain and h orror, that the Ostpolitik of th e Vatic an constitutes in reality, a true obstac le t o th e return of m any Ukrainian n on-Ca th olics to th e bosom of the Catholic Church. 56

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17

In Poland, the religious persecution has normally been lighter than in the other Commun istdominated countries of Eastern Europe. Howeve r, after the recent visit of Ms~r. Lui gi Poggi, rep resentativ e of the Vatican, to the au thorities of the regime of Warsaw, the government inte nsified its opposition to the construction of new churches in the country, as well as to the religious educatio n of small children. Spokesmen of the government declared th at official conversations with the represe ntative of the V a tican had dealt with world politics and detente , not with th e Ch urch in Poland. 59 Th e re is another example from Poland which merits consideration. In Nove mber of 1973 , a minister of th e Polish Communist government was received with friendliness in the Vatican. In Februa ry of 1974, Msgr. Casaroli, the Kissinger of the Vatican , wa s rec eived with festivities in Warsaw.

During the short period of tim e between these two journ eys, the Catholic priest Fath er Zabichcki was imp risoned and afterwards confi ned in a psychiatric prison. Thi s was do ne bec ause on Decem ber 16 , 1973 he had done something which is prohibited, that is , h e had celebrated Hol y Mass in his house without the permiss ion of the government. 60 There is n o evid e nc e that Msgr . Casoroli interv e ned in favor of the impriso ned pr iest.

Th e visits of Msgr. Casaroli to Moscow, sup p osedly for the purpose of ob taining improvements for Cath olics of the Latin Rite (es pec iall y th ose in Lithuania), have b ee n so inefficacious in this respect that clandestine editions of th e wellinformed Ch ronicle of the Chu rc/1 of Lithuania reveal a progre ssivel y increas ing anti-Catholi c perse cution. There are litera ll y hundreds of cases of atrocious persecution aga inst Lithuanian Catholics.

Nevertheless, th e Vatican remains silent about this matter also. 6 1 In 1973 th e Rum .rnian leaderCeaucescu visite d the Va tican; howeve r, this visit did not prevent him from continuing to persecute brut all y th e Unia te Catholi cs of the country who also suffer under a legal prohibition li ke that imposed on Uniate Catholi cs in Ukraine. 62 We will not a tte mpt to go too deepl y in to the relati o ns of th e Vatic an w ith Hun gary, which is sti ll dominated by the long suffering figure of th e great Cardinal Mindsze nt y. Nevertheless, we mu st emp hasize that as a fruit of the Ostpo li tik , th e 18

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Catholic ecclesiastical structure of th at country is today contro ll ed by a pro-communist cl e rgy whic h swore oaths of fid elit y to th e Bolshevist regim e and which p articipate s in Cath oli c Marxist organizations such as the well-known " PAX " . The Hungarian Episcopate, it pains us to say, represe nts a true example of "Nikodimization" of th e Catholic Churc h. 63 All of th ese facts lead to a tragic but unavoidab le conclusion: the Vatican Ostpolitik has stimulated the Communist persecution.

Indeed , a fundamen tal postulate of the Ostp olitik is th at the Vatican keep sil e nt about the Communist pe rsecution of th e Church and the total in co mpatibilit y that exists betwee n Catholic doctrine and Communist doctrine . As a consequ e nc e, the Vatican silences the nation al and international ec cl es ias tic al structures, m a king it p oss ibl e for the Commu ni st pe rsec ution to becom e more forceful without b eing inconvenienced .64 One may say, moreover, that th ere are two Churches of Sil ence. The different circumstances of eac h inv o lve many nuanc es. In thi s resp ec t , we may consider for a mome nt that second Church of Silence, the one imp osed from within up on th e national and inte rnational ec cles iastical structures and the fa ithful. T h at thi s Church of Si le n ce exists in th e Wes t throu gh the work and approval of vast sectors of a progressive ec clesiastical hiera rch y, which promotes th e autodemoli tion of th e Church, has bee n made clear in res pec t t o th e we ll know n case of C hil e . The vo luminous book 7"/, e Cllllrch of Sile1tce i11 Cl1ile, publi shed b y th e Chilea n Society for th e Defe nse of Tradition, Family, and Propert y, proved that the Ch ilean Episcopate co ll aborated w ith th e Mar xist regime of Alle nde be fore , durin g. a nd after its asce nt t o pow e r. Based on Catholic do c trin e and on 200 doc um e nts, th e book points out that the faithfu l must break th eir false submi ss ion to this sui c idal eccles iastica l structure b y not transforming them selves into a new Church of Silence. 65 We make these re flections so th a t th e rea de r can place the problem of the Catholic Ukrainians in a bet ter pers pec tive , for th ey ha ve a glory th e glory of the Cross - in that they belong to both Churches of Si lence. O n th e one hand , th e re is th e sil e nc e wh ich is imposed on th em b y th e Communist exec ution ers of th e USSR a nd the ROC. On the other hand , th e re is the si le nc e of

th e Va ti can ab out the martyrd om of th e Cath oli c Church in Ukrai ne and th e silence w hi ch it tri es co imp ose on th e Uk rain ians o f th e em igration and th e ex ile ab out ch is situation .

Mailleux, S.J ., wh om we have alread y cited . F ath er Mailleux, wh o occ upies high posts in th e V at ican re late d to th e Oriental Churches, has declare d that th e Catholic Ukra inians can not hop e th at th e Holy See w ill risk th e emb arrassment of raisin g th e problem of th e exis tence of th e Ukrainian Church in th e Soviet Uni on when th ere is a possibility of the Vati can maintainin g a dialogue with th e ROC .67 T hu s, one find s th at the mart yrdom of th e Ca thol ic Ukrain ians is execu ted by th e j oint efforts of two im mense stru c tures, one of whi ch 011gh t to be in cha rge o f saving it , and th at these stru ctu res act t oge th er like a p air of pincers .

A LION CRIES OUT IN THE DESERT

Cardinal Slipyj . A li on crie s out in th e desert .

On e cannot fail t o conclude th at all is procee dina as if the V atican had accep ted th e arbitrary b m easures of th e ROC, that institution whi ch has ac ted , at the comm and of th e Com munists, t o elimin ate th e Cath olic Church in Ukraine. Paul Vl h as said n oth ing publicl y against th e perse cu tion and destru ction of th e Church in Ukraine. There have bee n innum erable opp ortunities to speak , but fro m R om e one h as heard onl y a pro fo und sil ence . 66 Accordin gly, one must co nclude th at the Va tican is accep ting, at least tacitly, th e des tru ction of the Catholic Ch urc h in Ukrai ne. In oth er words, 5 m ill ion Catholics are being sac rifi ce d o n th e altar of dialogue with th e USSR- ROC. This is con firm ed by th e tes tim o ny of F ath er

Th e H oly Cath olic Church and Ukraine h ave a great re pre sentive in th e person of Msgr. Slipyj.

His work in favor o f Catholicism and of the Ukrainian n atio n is m onum ental , and history h as recorded it.

After th e long silence which h ad bee n impose d on him against his will by th e authorities of the Vatic an, th e Cardin al decided to speak , th ereb y sh owin g his unders tandin g of th e words spoken by th e sup eri or o f a cl andes tine Ukrainian mon astery : " A dead h ero is a m ore p owerful stimulus for th e Church th an a living pris oner in th e Vatican. " 68 In th e WorldS ynodofRom e in 1971 , th e CaTdinal , in th e prese nc e of Paul VI , pron oun ce d a disco urse with lively em o tion , in which he declared: " . . . Catholic Ukrainians , wh o have sac rifice d m o untains of bodies and sh ed rivers of th eir blo od for th e Catholic F aith and for th eir fid elity to th e Holy See, eve n now are undergoing a very terrible persecution , but wha t is worse, th ey are defe nded by no one . . . our Catholic faithful , prohibited fr om celebrating th e liturgy and administering th e Sac raments, must desce nd into th e ca taco mbs. Th o usands and th ousands of th e fai thful , pries ts, and bish ops h ave bee n th rown into prison and deported t o th e polar regi ons of Siberia. Now, however, because of negotiati ons and dip lomacy, Ukrainian Cath olics, w ho as marty rs and co nfess ors suffered so mu ch are being th rown aside as inconve nient witnesses of pas t evils. " In rece nt letters and communications which I have rece ive d , our faithful lament: 'Wh y have CRUSADE

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we suffered so much ? Where is justice to be found?

Ecclesiastic al diplomacy has labeled us as impediments. Cardinal Slip yj does nothing for his Church' And I answer: What can I do? ... When Pimen , the patriarch of Moscow, in an electoral synod openly declared that the Union of Brest was annulled, not one of the Vatic an delegates prese nt protested ... One of the eminent Cardinals here expressed astonishment that the Ukrainians who have been treated so badly and unjustly h ave, nevertheless , rem ain ed Catholic ... " 69 In Octob er of 1976 , Cardinal Slipyj manage d to get permission from Rom e to travel to Philadelphia to ap pear at the fun eral of th e Ukrainian Archbishop of that city. On that occasion, he insisted that a Ukrainian Patriarchate was a pressing necessity . "I do not seek the title of the Patriarchate for m y personal honor and glory," declared the major Archbishop of Lviv. " If I were interes ted in personal honor and status, I would have received it from the Sovie t regim e without having had to pass 18 years in slave camps." And he concluded with intelligent realism: "If I had accepted it , th e Holy F ather would be speaking to me today as an equal, as he does with th e Orthodox Patri arch of Moscow. But I have remained faithful to the See of Pe te r and the Unive rs al Church." 70 THE ROMAN RESISTANCE: THE SOLUTION FOR UKRAINIAN CATHOLICS

In th e face of th e Vatic an's incredible policy aimed at bringing about a relaxation of ten sions with th e Communist governments , Catholics (and in th e case under study, Catholic Ukraini ans) face a choice betwee n tw o altern ativ es: to cease th eir struggle against Communism? or to resist the polic y of relaxa tion of tensions ? So me tim e ago, the Societies for the Defense of Tradition, Family, an d Prop ert y (k nown as th e TFP) of th e whole world launche d an important manifesto on thi s crucial que stion. We believe that it provides a clear, logical , and irrefutable answer to this problem.

The various societies for th e De fe nse of Tradition , F amily , and Property were born of a con ce rn by intellectuals, stude nts, and men of action over th e tragic co nse qu ences flowing from th e series o f religious , m oral, political , and economic crises which are spreading over Christian Civilization 20

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The TFP' s resistance manifesto was published also in Ukrainian.

and th e world. More a nd more young men are finding a common ideal which stems from this concern and in one nation after another are preparing th emselves to struggle ide ologica1ly in a cause which is findinoo grea ter and ooreater ec ho es in th e public opinion of th e Weste rn Hemisph ere, that is to say, th e cause which defends th e values of tradition, th e family, and property against th e adv anc e of Comn'rnni sm.

The TFP 's declared : " Th e Vatican polic y of relaxation of te nsions tow ard th e Communist governments creates a si tu ation which affec ts anti-com munist Catholics deeply, b ut mu ch less, howeve r, as anti -communists than as Catholic s.

For at any mom e nt a supremely embarrassing objection m ay be put to th em: D oes not th eir anticommunist ac tion lead t o a result that is pre cisel y o pp ose d to th e one inte nded by th e Vicar of Christ? And how can one consider a Catholic to be consistent if he moves in an opposite direc tion from th e Pas tor of Pastors? This question leads all anti-communist Catholics to a co nside ration of these alte rn ativ es : To cease th e stru ggle? Or to explain th eir position? " To cease th e fight, we cannot . And we cann ot cease it because of a demand of our conscience as Catholics. For if it is a duty of eve ry Cathol ic to

promote good and fight evil, our conscie nce im poses on us the responsibility of propagating th e traditional doctrin e of th e Church , and of fightin g Communist doctrine . .. Liberty of conscience .. . in what it has of the more legitimate and sacred . . . affirms the right of a Catholic to act in the religious and in the civic li fe , according to the dictates of his conscience. " Th e Church is not, the Church never was, the Church never will be such a prison for consciences.

Th e bond of obedie nce to th e succ essor of Pe ter , which we will never bre ak , which we love in the depth of our soul, to which we give the best of our love , this bond we kiss at the very moment in which triturated by sorrow we affirm our position ... " As one may easily see, the Ukrainian situation is e ncompassed in a singular way within this set of problems. Well , then , what is the solution ?

The lucid manifesto of th e TFP's responds : " Yes, Holy Father ¡_ we continue - St. Pe ter teaches us that it is necessary 'to obey God rather than men' (Acts 5:29) . You are assisted by the Holy Ghost and you are even comforted - under the conditions de fined by Vatican I - by the privilege of in fallibility. But this doe s not prevent th e wea kne ss t o which all m en are subject from inf1uenc ing and eve n de terminin g Y o ur condu c t in ce rt ain m a tters or circumstances. On e of th ese perh aps p ar ex cellence - is diplomacy. And it is he re that Your policy of dete nte with the Communist governments is situated .

"And what, then , to do? Th e number of lines in the pre se nt declara ti o n is insuffice nt to permit th e li stin g here of all th e F ath ers of th e Church , Doctors, Moralists, and Canoni sts - m an y of th e m raise d to th e h o no r o f th e altar wh o affirm th e legitim acy o f th e res istanc e. This res istan ce is n o t se para ti o n , it is not revolt, it is n o t harshness, it is no t irrevere nce. On th e contrar y, it is fidelity , it is union , it is love , it is submission. " 'Res istan ce' is th e word we choose on purpose , fo r it is th e one employ ed in th e Ac ts of th e Apo stl es b y th e Holy Ghost Him self in o rder t o ch arac teri ze th e attitude o f St. Paul. S t. Pe ter, th e firs t Po pe, had take n di sc iplin ary meas ures regardin g t he continuit y in Cath olic wo rshi p of so me prac ti ces re ma inin g fr o m th e old Sy nagogue , and St. Paul saw in thi s a grave ri sk of doctrinal con fu sio n and of harm to the faithful. He th en sto o d

up against St. Peter and " resiste d him to his fa ce" (Gal. 2: 11 ). In this ardent and inspired move of th e Apostle of th e Gentiles , St. Peter did not see an act of rebellion , but rather on e of union and fraternal love. Knowing well in what he was infallible , and in what he was not, St. Peter submitted to the arguments of St. Paul. The Saints are models for Catholics. Accordingl y, in the sense in which . d , our state 1s . one o f resistance. . ,, 71 St. Pau I res1ste A CALL TO THE WEST

Until now , the West has been like a vast dese rt in which the voice of th e Ukrainian martyrs cry.

Certainly , this state of placidity should not exist , for the Western peoples have the grave ¡ responsibility of defending th e free world. The persecution s carried out against th e subjugated peoples, which constitute in the first place a moral problem , ar~ also a politi~ al proble m in th e high est sense of the word. The most rudim e ntary con sideration of the global picture makes clear that the very survi val of the fre e world depends on vigilan ce against Communist tactics. And closer inspection shows that the captive nations constitute a key element in what is truly a global struggle; in fact, th e captive nation s are th e " Achilles' he el" o f Communi sm . Neverth eless, for Catholic s th e qu es ti o n of co nscience is mu ch grav er than the political qu esti o n. Ca tholics have th e o bligation of helpin g th e ir mart yred bre thren behind the Iron Curtain , n o t o nl y out of a general human solidarity but al so, and above all , on ac count of the sacred supe rnatural bonds of faith.

In view of th e clamorou s sil e nce of Rom e, and th e gravity o f th e situ a ti o n , we call on Wes te rn Ca th olic publi c o pini o n to raise its voice in pro tes t again st what is h appe nin g in Ukraine . Th e ec cles ias tical authorities a nd th e Co mmunist rul ers are b o th ex tre mely sensitive to manifesta tion s of Western public opinion . On the attitude of this public opinion will de pe nd th e future co urse of events and, th erefor e, th e extent of th e e nlargement o r re du c tion in scope o f the great injustice b eing prac tic ed in Ukrain e and, indirectl y, th e am o unt o f in crease or dec re ase in th e pene tration o f Co m muni sm in th e West.

If we kee p sile nt o ne more tim e , as we h ave alread y don e so m a ny tim es in th e rece nt pas t in the fac e of th e Co mmunist abomination s, thi s un CRUSADE

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resolved question of conscienc e will weigh as on e m o re fac tor - and n o t a sm all o ne - in th e al ready adv ance d process of the fall of th e ex-Christian Western civilization.

A CALL TO THE FREE UKRAINIANS

"Th rough y ou, my Ruthenians, * I l1 ope to convert th e Eas t."

Thus spo ke Catholi c R om e, th e R ome o f th e Saints an d th e Marty rs, Eternal R o me, throu gh th e mo uth of th e H oly F ath er, Urb an VllI , on beatify in g the great Ukrainian St. J osa phat. 72 We also appeal, and in a spec ial way , to the Ukrainian Catholics who live in th e Wes t. T o the m belon gs a special rol e : T o assist th eir brothers in th e F ai th and in bl ood, and to take a _position against th e current Vatican .policy , that is to say, in th e R o m an R es istanc e. Throu gh th e heroic resistance th ey mount against th e enem y of th e F aith and Ukrain e, th e pro fo und contemporary signific ance of th e prophe ti c call of Urb an VIII will ac g uire body .

Thi s is th e grea t vocation o f the Ukrainians.

T o day, it appears fa r aw ay, but th ere is no doubt th at it is gaining st re ngth - in th e midst o f th e sufferin gs th at th e prese n t situ ati o n imp oses on th em. Perh aps, Di vin e Providence, in its un fa th o mable w isdo m, w ishes to co nve rt th e peo ples o f E as tern Europ e to the Holy Church by m eans of th e m erit s o f th e m arty rs o f th e Ukrainian Uni ates.

Mo reover, providenti all y, th ey constitut e a stra te gic bridge be twee n th e Eas t and th e Wes t.

Didn ' t O ur Lad y , Herse lf, pre dict a t Fatim a in 19 17 th at even Ru ssia, a ft er spread ing her e rro rs aII over the wo rld , would be co nve rted ?

This great prom ise o f O ur Lad y resoun ds and reverberates like a sac red voca ti on give n b y Etern al R o me ce nturies ago, and ec h oes in th e de pth s of th e Ca th oli c Ukrainian soul , with all of th e sacre dn ess and brilliance o f a golde n ico n os tas is.

Le t us pray the n with our Ukrainian broth e rs th e praye r of fi re of S t. Lo ui s Marie Gri gn io n de M o nt for t, wh o ex pressed so exac tl y the prese n t situ a ti o n of the H oly Church bo th in Uk raine and th e rest of the world : " Thy Divin e Law is broke n ;

â&#x20AC;˘ In thi s con text, Ru theni ans refe rs to th e Ukrain ians.

22

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Th y G os pel is aband one d; torrents of iniquity inunda te th e w hole ear th and swee p Th y very se rvants aw ay; all th e earth is desolate; impie t y is on th e th rone; Th y sanc tu ary is profa ned and th e abo min a ti o n is even in th e Holy Pl ace. Wilt Th o u leave every thin g thus abandon ed , Just Lord , G o d of Ve ngeances? Will every thing in th e end beco me like So do m and G omorrah? Wilt Thou be sile nt foreve r? Wilt Thou bear forever ? Is it not necessary th at Th y will be don e on earth as it is in Heave n and th at Th y Kin gd o m come to us? Didst Th o u n o t sh ow be fore hand to som e of Th y fri ends a future renovation o f th e Church ?" 73 And re pea tin g th e cry o f Moses: " Si guis est Domini, jungatur mihi." 74 Let him wh o is fo r th e Lord , j oin with m e to cry out togeth er t o Heave n: " Yes, co me Lord" - Am e n Ve ni Do mini! " 75 REFERENCES l. Cf. World H istory, by Wi lhelm On cre n , i'vlo ntaner y Sim on , Barce lon a, 9 29 , vo l. XX .

2. Idem.

3. H istoire Unive rselle de L 'Eglise Cath olique , by Fr. Re ne Fran co is Ro hrbac her , Gaum e Frcr es, Paris, 1864, vol. X III , pp. 4 73-4 74 .

4. Th e Uk rainian Cat h olic Church: 1945-1 975, by Miroslav Labunka and Leonid Rudny tzky . S t. Sophi a Assoc., 1976, Ph il adelph ia, p p . 12 0-122 .

5. Historia de Los Papas desde f ines de la ÂŁdad M edia by L udwig Pas tor, Arge n tini an edi tion , Gidi S.A ., Bu en os Aires, 19 58, vo l. XV I, p p. 35 1-355.

6. First Victim s of Comm u nism, by An alec ta OSBM. Ro m e, 1953, p . 2-5.

7. A BN J\!Iagazine, vo l. X XIV , n o. 2, Ap r il 19 73, iVlunich, Germ any.

8. Et h nocicle of Ukrainians in th e USS R , as printed by S m olos kyp , Baltiinorc, I 976, introd uced by Robert Con qu es t , comp ile d from th e un d ergr ound pub lica ti o n The Ukrainian Hera ld, iss u e 7-8, pp. 45-63.

9 . I bid as re f. 6, pp. 14- I 6 .

10 . The Ukrainian H erald, op. c it., p. 4 7.

I I . Th e R o le of Ukraine in R ecent S oviet- Vatican Diplo-

macy, by Fr. U lisse Fl oridi , S .J ., Thom as Bird Co., New York , 19 72, pp. 63-69.

12. The Sovie t Gov ernm ent a11d the Ukrainian Catholic Ch urch, by Pro f. Vasy l i'v1arku s, La Sall e College, Philade lp hia, 1976 , pp. 20-34.

13. The Vatican and the Sile nt Churc h , b y Fr.J oh n Mowa t t , La Salle Coll ege, Phila delphia, 1976 , pp.

70 -8 7.

14. Mosca e il Vaticano, by Fr. Ulisse Fl o ri d i, S.J . Casa d i Ma tri o na, Mil an o, 1976, p . 275.

15. Religion and Na tionality - the Uniates and Ukrain e,

by Prof. V asy l Marku s, Uni ve rsity o f T oront o Press, T oro nto, Can ada , 19 75, p. 105.

16. Th e Uniate Church in the Sovie t Ukraine, by Prof.

Bohdan Bociurkiw , Canadian Slavonic Papers, Toronto, 1965, pp.89-11 3.

1 7. East ern Catholics U11der Soviet Rule, by Derri ck , Sword of th e Sp iri t , London, 1946, pp. 54-59. (The quoted matter is a translation of a translation of the original.)

18. Id em, p. 35.

19 . White Book on th e R e(igious Pers ecutio11s in Ukraine,

by Ana lecta OSBM, English Editio n , Rome, 1953.

20. Th e Improbable Triumvirate, by Norman Cousins, Norton Co., New York, 19 72, p. 29; sec also Fr. Ulisse Floridi, S.J., op . c it., p. 278.

2 1. Ir on Curtain Christians, by Kurt Hutten, Augsb urg Co., Minneapolis, 1967, p. 3 1.

22. Idem as ref. 19, p. 6.

23. " II Cri s to Des tru cto dci Cattolici Verainc," b y A. Mon terati in Famiglia Cristiana Magazin e, Ap ril, 19 72.

24. R eligion and A theism in th e USSR and Eastern Europ e

by Bohdan Bociurkiw, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1975.

25. Russia Cristiana, i'vlilano, vol. XV I, no . 143, 19 7 5, p. 56.

26. Boom erang - Th e Works of Val e11.ty11 Moroz, edited

by Yaroslav Bih un, Baltimore, Mel., 1974, pp.48-61.

27. Demographic Statistics in Ukraine from Th e Ukrainian H erald, iss ue 7-8, as printed and translated by Smo loskyp, Baltimore , Md., 19 76, pp. 39- 12 1.

28 . Th e Free dom of th e Church in th e Communist State,

by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, Vera Cruz , Sao Pau lo, 19 65 .

29. Mosca e il Vaticano, by Fr. Ulisse Floridi, S.J., Casa di Matriona, Mil ano , 1976 .

a

3 0. "Comment !es C hefs d'Eglises prcfcrc nt Cesar Die u,"

by H. Hoffman in Ca tacombes, Courbcvoic, Fra nce, no. 28 ,J an., 19 74 .

3 1. Th e N ew York Tim es, Sept. 18, 1973 .

32. Fr. Geo rges Dcjaifve in Civilita Catto lica, vol. IV , 1964, pp. 46 1-462.

33. Storia del Consilio , by Grianfran co Sviclereosc h i, Mil ano, 1967, pp. 601 -607.

45. "Th e Orthodox and th e Soviet Re gim e in Ukrai ne,"

by Bohdan Bosiurkiw in Canadian Slavo 11ic Pap ers, vo l. X IV , no. 2, 19 72, Toronto, pp. 191 ,2 11.

46. "i'vla ni fcsto of th e 'O rthodox Actio n ' lVloveme nt in Western Europe," apud Cat ecu mbes, no . 32, May 15, 197 4, Courbevo ie, France.

4 7. I nformatiuns Cathuliqu es l ntenwtionales, Paris, Jul y 15, 197 2.

48. Newsweek, Dec. 6, 1971.

49. L 'Osserva tore Romano, Vatican City,Ju ly 4, 1975.

50. "Alexe i's Interview with Ukrains k ," in Visti, !\¡larc h 3 0, 1972, New York .

5 1. I elem as ref. 44, p. IV. 52. la Patriarchate, Phil ade lphi a, Oct., 19 72, p . 3 7.

53. " Response to the Dec ree on Easte rn Ca tholic Ornrcl1 es,"

by Fr. Alc xsande r Schernernan , in D ocum en ts of Vatican II, America Press, New York, 19 66, p . 387 .

54. Maksy na Sakaydak in Th e Ukrainia11 Herald, issue 7-8, p . 159.

55. B oomerang - the Work s of Valentyn Moro z , edited

by Maksy na Sakaydak , Smolosky p , Baltimore, 1976, pp . 235 -236.

56. Th e New World, Chicago, Nov. 22, 19 74 .

5 7. "Die Uk rain ische Kirche lebt," in d er Fels, Re ge nsburg, Germany, n o. 5 , 1972, pp. 146- 149.

58. Svoboda ,J erscy City, Ne w J ersey ,June 14, 197 5.

59 . E tudes Pu litiqu es, Berne, Switze rl and .

60. Idem as ref. 29, p. 73.

6 1. Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, nos. 8 and 9, as edited by th e Lithu anian Roman Catho lic Pries ts' Leagu e of America, New York , 197 5.

62. Chre tiens d e l'Est, Pa ris, 19 75. Special issue on th e Rumanian Unia te Catholic Chu rch.

63 . M agistere-Informatio11, no. 88, France , !\larch, 19 74.

64 . Cat ecomb es, cditorial, Cou rb evoie, Fran ce,A ug., 1972.

65 . La Iglesia de [ S ilencio e n Chile, edi c iones TFP, San tiago, Chile, Marc h , 1976.

66. "Ukrainian Odyssey," by Peter 1-I ebblc th waite, in Th e Tablet, London, Sept. 4, 1976.

3 5. Catacomb es, May, 1972, Courbevoie, Fra nce.

67. Archiepiscopal and Patriarchal Autonomy, b y T h omas E . Bird and Eva Picldubec hesen, Fordham University Press, New York, 1972, p. 66 .

36. Musca e il Vaticano, by Ulisse Florid i, S J ., Casa di Matrion a, Milan o, 1976, pp. 291-292.

69. Vistiy Rymu, Rik 9, nos. 16- 17 , Rome, De c. 197 1.

3 4. Idem as ref. 33 .

3 7. Th e Brooklyn Table t, Ne w York, Jul y 1 7, 19 75.

38. I d em as ref. 36, pp. 143- 144.

39. R e ligion and Nationality - the Uniates of Ukrain e by Prof. Vasy l Markus, University of Toronto Press , Toronto, 1975, p. I 10 .

40. Ide m as ref. 29, pp . 290 -2 91.

4 1. Idem as ref. 3 9, p . 114 .

68. I dem as ref. 44, p. 7.

70 . Catholic R egis ter, Toronto, Ont., Canada, Oct., 1976.

(Th e quoted m a tter is a trans la ti o n of a tra nslatio n of th e o ri gin al.)

71. Crusade for a Christian Civilization, New York , Sept., 1974.

42 . Diakunia, by th e Eastern Catholic Chur ch Center, Fordham Univ ersity, 1 .Y ., 1974.

72 . Th e Ukrainian Catholic Church: 1945-1975, by Miroslav Zab unk a and Leonid Rudnytzky , St. Sophia Assoc., Phil ade lphia, 1976, p . 9.

43. R eligious Genocide, by Dari a Kuzyk, Soc ie ty for the Patriarc hate, London, 1976, p. 70.

73. Obras de San Zu iz Maria Grignion de Montfort, edi ciones l:lAC, Mad rid , 1954, p. 597.

44. And Bless thy Inh eritance, by Eva Piddubec h esen, Eric Hugo Co., Schene c tady, N.Y ., 1970, pp. 48 -49 .

74 . Ex . 32:26.

75 . Apoc. 22: 20.

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EURO-ANTICOMMUNISM: THE ANTI-VOGUE WHICH IS IN VOGUE Observers of international politics and prestigious institutes of public opinion have recently been pointing out the appearance of an anti-socialist tendency in the great nations of the Western world.

Some compare it to a wave which is beginning to develop and become more consistent in the most economically developed zones of the world .

Some months ago, the Swedish elections produced a result, which surprised many persons. The defeat of the socialists on this occasion is the most important sign and even a historical milestone in the new direction of European public opinion. The reverse suffered by the socialists in favor of the conservatives in Sweden was repeated 15 days later in the German Federal Republic.

More recently there have been other indications to corroborate the existence of this profound movement of opinion registered in northern Europe, showing in addition that it is spreading to other nations of the West.

THE SWEDISH MYTH WHICH SPREAD ALL OVER THE WORLD Sweden, which has been governed for the last 44 years by the Social Democrats, has managed to attain a high level of

THE RESISTANCE

(Continu ed from page 1) St. Godfrey of A miens, St. Hugh of Grenoble , aiid Guido of Vienn e (th e future Pope Callistus II) and many other Bishops at the Synod of Vienne (1112) sent to Pope Pascal II the decisions that they had adopted , writing him, moreover: "If as we absolutely do not believe, you take some other way, and you refuse to confinn the decisions of our paternity, may God help us, for thus you will be separating us from your obedience. " (Bouix, Tract, de Papa, tom . II , p. 650) . *

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economic development; the greatest per capita index of gross national production in Europe - exceeded only by that of the United States - and a high standard of living. The average salary is the highest on the continent, and the population does not know unemployment. There is an automobile for every four inhabitants of the country , a telephone for every two persons, and a television set for every three persons.

Although Sweden became the victim of an intensive system of state control which carried the collectivization of society to extremes never before known in the anti-communist countries, private property was nevertheless preserved to a great extent. Ninety percent of the industrial production of the country is in private h ands; the cooperatives and state corporations are each responsible for only about 5% of the production . Of the fourteen banks which exist in the country, only one belongs to the government. Contrary to what occurs in the Communist countries, the Swedish socialist regime sp are d the institution of private property, thereby managing to keep the national economy healthy . In all other fields, however, collectivist state control marked the life of the nation profoundly and progressively.

The great theologian, Peinado r, cites and makes his own the following principle enunciated by St . Tbo nias Aq uinas: "When there is a prox imate danger to the Faith, prelates must be reproved, even publicly, by their subjects." (Cu rsus Brevior Th eo/. Mor. , tomus VI, vol.

I, p. 287). * * * The great abbot Dom Gueranger taught: "When the pastor transforms himself into a wolf, it is the flock which, in the first place, has the obligation of defending itself ... In the treasure of Revel ation , there are essential points which every Christi an, in view of his very title of Christian, necessarily knows and has to defend obligatorily ." (L 'Anne

From Sweden , which is called "the democratic welfare state" or the "middle term" or even "the country of the compromise," a my th has arisen and that myth has spread all over the world.

The "Swedish model" has been acclaimed and envied everywhere as a true paradise on earth . And that "paradise," it has been understood , was the work of a parry with a socialist program of Marxist inspiration: the Social Democratic Party. One might view it as the full success of a poiitical curreni:, complemented by the applause and the happiness of the people. At any rate, this is what the propaganda would make people believe. And indeed this image of happiness was accepted by uncountable multitudes . But was the nation reall y happy?

THE ELECTORATE MAKES ITS PRONOUNCEMENT In the recent elections in Sweden, the party that was the architect of "socialism in plenty" was defeated. The commentators were unanimous in affirming that what was rej ected was Swedish socialism . The Sweden of the myth dissolved. The reality appeared!

The political current that held power until recently had carried social services (Conti nued on faci ng page )

Liturgique, the feast of St. Cyril of Alexandria, pp. 340-341). * * * Corn elius a Lap ide shows that according to St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Bede, St. Anselm, and many other Fathers of the Church, the resistance of St. Paul to St. Peter was public "so that in that way the public scandal given by St. Peter might be repaired - by a rebuke which was also public " (Ad Gal. 2: 11).

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., to the extreme, hoping to conquer the electorate by taking care of the greatest possible number of material interests.

To achieve this end, it almost completely despised the role of ideologies and the spiritual aspirations of the people.

The electorate, having to choose between a plethora of merely creature comforts and an opportunity to affirm the aspirations of the soul, rejected the former in favor of the latter.

The statistics are eloquent: Of the 349 seats in the Kiksdag (Parliment), the non-socialists won 180, the social democrats 152, and the Communists only 17. Six million voters in a country of 8 million inhabitants appeared at the ballot box. Among them were 500,000 persons who were voting for the first time as a result of a law reducing the voting age from 20 to 18 years. The youths swelled the ranks of the conservatives ...

others, thus leaving an unmistakable mark of his passage through life and perhaps an imprint on history. Like all of the other upright natural impulses of man, this aspiration can lead to extremely bad results if it is not realized in accordance with Catholic morality, but in itself it is a legitimate and i;iecessary aspiration, one that is tied to the plan of God for every creature on this earth.

The legitimate desire to see this yearning of the soul realized produced the movement of the Swedish electorate which caused the downfall of the social democratic regime.

AN ANTI-VOGUE THAT IS IN VOGUE

The German Social Democrats went into panic, and with good reason. The defeat in Sweden occurred on the "eve" of the elections in West Germany. And indeed their fears wern well-founded, THE BITTER INHERITANCE for the vote in West Germany confirmed OF THE EGALITARIAN the anti-socialist wave. The West GerPARADISE man Social Democratic Party (SDP) A riches and technology unimaginable whose program is also socialist, though to our grandparents were withi_n the less notorious so than its Swedish counreach of the Swedish citizen. State terpart, suffered a significant reversal in planning had enabled him to enjoy the elections. Th_ey won only 42.6% of numerous advantages and benefits im- the votes, while parties of a conservaposed on millions of others also, marking tive tendency (the Christian Democratic them all with the same life, and we would Union and the Social Christian Union) almost say, with the same death. Having obtained 48.6%. The present social received this treatment, the people did :: democratic government of Helmut not manifest satisfaction and happiness, Schmidt was able to remain in power but discontent and a desire to change. A only through the collaboration of the fundamental feature of the human soul, liberal party of a centrist tendency. which had been repressed and almost After conducting a deep research on unbearably asphixiated, led the Swedes the German social political reality of to wish to dismantle the "paradise." our days, Professor Max Kaire, of the What is this feature?

Institute of Social Sciences of the For a long time, it had remained in University of Mannheim, concluded: the . the shade, without any voice daring to Catholic workers, who voted for the bring it to the consideration of our Social Democrats in 1972, in these century wrapped up in its absurd wor- :.:iections supported the conservatives;, ship of "social achievements." The fea- ,the SDP lost feminine voters also, and ture of which we speak is the natural failed to attract the young electorate, human creativity which distinguishes the majority of whom voted for the and characterizes a personality . In every Christian Democratic Union. There does man, there is a profound desire to create not appear to be any sector of the pubsomething of his own by which he ex- lic left for the Social Democrats . . . presses himself, not only in respect to For some months now, the most that in him which is analogous to other acute observers had already perceived men, but above all in respect to that the growth of an anti-socialist tendency, which makes him different from the as it revealed itself by the gradual but

continuous movement of youths inre the conservative organizations. This led Georg Leber, the West German Minister of Defense, to define the situation as an "anti-vogue which is in vogue."

It appears that the winds of modernity are not favorable to the socialists . ..

NEW TENDENCIES AND NEW DIRECTIONS According to all indications, the socalled Eurocommunism, a deceitful formula created by the Italian Berlinger and his ilk, has already become anachronistic and discredited. Other quite different tendencies appear to characterize the future.

In Finland, the municipal elections ,showed a decrease of 2.2% in the popularity of the Social Democrats and an increase of 3% in favor of the conservatives. This fact gains in significance as one considers that Finland unc!ergoes a powerful moral influence from Russia because of its geographical proximity to the latter. In fact, the term "finlandization" is widely used to characterize the limitation of autonomy which has come about, for certain countries, due to the psychological pressure of the Soviets.

Researches in public opinion carried out in England and published by the Evening Standard also confirm the new conservative trend . According to these polls, if elections were carried out now, the conservatives would easily win with 47% of the votes against only 30% for the Labor Party .

The new wave of anti-communism appears to be making its impact also ¡ in France where Prime Minister Chirac resigned from the cabinet of Giscard d'Estaing in opposition to its liberal policies. Recently, he dissolved the Gaullist Party and set up a new anticommunist party at a rally of 50,000 enthusiastic supporters.

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Is it not possible that these indications of the lively reaction of Europ ean public opinion to socialism is in th e process of establishing new directions and new goals for the future of our civilization?

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