On 5-6 July 2018, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij fulfilled a working visit to the Vatican during which he furthered the issue of recognition of the Patriarchal status of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the importance of continued support for Ukraine.
During a meeting with the Prefect of the Congregation of Eastern Churches of the Roman Curia, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the UWC President thanked the Vatican for recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people and its support for Ukraine, including in the framework of the humanitarian project initiated by Pope Francis, “The Pope for Ukraine.” Eugene Czolij also called for recognition of the Patriarchal status of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as supported with resolutions of the 2016 and 2017 UWC Annual General Meetings. The UWC President highlighted the significant reforms in Ukraine, as well as the destructive consequences of Russian hybrid aggression against Ukraine. Eugene Czolij also raised the statement made by Pope Francis during a recent meeting with a delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate and emphasized the importance of the issuance of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The UWC President discussed with the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Holy See Tetiana Izhevska the relations between the Vatican and Ukraine.
Eugene Czolij also visited St. Peter’s Basilica and prayed at the mosaics of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, and near the remains of St. Josaphat.
The UWC President was accompanied on this visit by Director of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels Maryna Iaroshevych.
“The Ukrainian World Congress will continue to promote within the Vatican important Ukrainian issues, including the recognition of the Patriarchal status of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
In the photo from left: E. Czolij, Cardinal L. Sandri and M. Iaroshevych
