Ukrainian Council of Churches met with the Archbishop of Toronto and held its session
25 April 2012
A delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations met with Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Toronto (Canada).
During the meeting members of the delegation presented the experience of interdenominational harmony and cooperation of churches and religious organizations in Ukraine.
In his speech Patriarch Filaret, the Primate of the UOC-Kyiv Patriarchate, said that we may more often hear doubts about the possibility of peaceful coexistence of religions in our globalized world. According to him, the UCCRO experience shows that the interdenominational peace under conditions of religious diversity is possible.
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav emphasized the role of UCCRO as a non-governmental public institution, which acts in defense of human spiritual and religious values and human rights, morality and justice in society.
For his part, Cardinal Thomas Collins noted the trend of secularization of public life, in which consumer attitudes often neglect the spiritual needs of man. He expressed admiration for the example of a joint service to the interests of their nation, which is the Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations.
The same day, not far from Niagara Falls leaders and authorized representatives of the Ukrainian Churches had an UCCRO meeting.
The main item on the agenda was the initiative to strengthen ties of the foreign Ukrainians with the country of their origin. Participants of the meeting decided to make proposals to the authorities, in particular concerning the granting of the right to young Ukrainians in diaspora to visit Ukraine with the support of the state. In particular, during the discussion, it was spoken about the need to amend the Law of Ukraine "On Legal Status of Foreign Ukrainians".
According to the regulations of the Council, the chairmanship of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations passed on to the head of the UGCC Archbishop Svyatoslav.
The delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations now visits Canada and the United States within the framework of the program in honor of Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky’s heritage (from 22 till 29 April).
The Institute for Religious Freedom – Kyiv, Ukraine
