English > UOGCC Publications

Letter to Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Post date: 2012-08-15
Autor: BCP
On Wednesday 1 August 2012, civic organizations that belong to the religious minority of the UO GCC organized a peaceful prayer demonstration in Drohobych, Ukraine, on the occasion of the anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus. During the peaceful demonstration Drohobych police, without any reason, arrested two activists! On the very same day they were sentenced in a show trial and imprisoned (a term of 10 and 15 days)! The police committed a crime on innocent citizens of Ukraine!Madam, we request that You intervene in this scandalous case, draw the appropriate consequences and see to compensation to the aggrieved party to prevent any further injustice shown to peaceful citizens of Ukraine.

Testimony of a mother of an innocently detained son

Post date: 2012-08-08
Autor: Synod UO GCC
Testimony of a mother of an innocently detained son

Letter to Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Post date: 2012-07-23
Autor: Synod UO GCC
Dear Madam, the European Union appointed You a commissioner to supervise the observance of human rights in Ukraine, in particular relating to discrimination against minorities and freedom of speech.Our minority Church (UO GCC) has already for three years been subject to religious discrimination and prevented from being granted legal registration at the Ministry of Culture under artificial pretexts. In fact, the motive therefor is the competitive position of the UGCC which does not wish our existence. Our Church has about 5,000 believers and is currently facing inflammation of religious enmity among the masses through the mass media.

Letter to Msgr. Cyril Vasil, Congregation for the Oriental Churches

Post date: 2012-07-21
Autor: Synod UO GCC
Dear Monsignor, we address ourselves to You with a complaint against the Archbishop of Lvov, Igor Voznyak. He launched a smear campaign in the journal Express and on the TV channel 12 LTV and inflamed religious hatred among the masses, which is a criminal offence violating the Ukrainian laws. We hereby ask You for a fair investigation of the whole matter and cessation of this criminal action against the religious minority of the UO GCC. If You boycott these crimes by silence, as the Vatican boycotted the crimes of paedophilia, sooner or later You will be convicted and brought to justice.Letter to Msgr. Cyril Vasil, Congregation for the Oriental Churches

Letter to the Head of State Security Service in Lviv Region

Post date: 2012-07-16
Autor: Synod UO GCC
On 5 July 2012 we were informed by the Prosecutor of the Brody District that as from 10 July 2012 we will not be allowed to celebrate Divine Liturgies in the Church of St. Joseph in Pidhirtsi rented to our religious community of the UO GCC by the Lviv National Art Gallery. We ask where we shall celebrate the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, on the following Sunday (15 July) and on other Sundays and feast days? If we are not allowed to celebrate the Liturgy inside the church on 10 July, we shall perhaps celebrate it outside.

Letter to the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych

Post date: 2012-07-08
Autor: BCP
The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate in Ukraine is a moral force which defends moral, spiritual and Christian values. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church headed by Cardinal Husar and Archbishop Shevchuk have already for three years manipulated the government agencies into transgressing the laws of Ukraine and preventing legal registration of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church (UO GCC), which is part of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate. UO GCC came into existence by separating from the UGCC headed by Cardinal L. Husar. The reason was Cardinal Husar’s proclamation of heresies. Our Church is no sect, as Cardinal Husar and his hierarchy label us. These hierarchs engage in intrigues to prevent the registration of our Church, exploiting state authorities for their own ends, which is contrary to the Ukrainian laws.

Excommunication, anathema, curse /An open letter to Card. W.J. Levada/ (+ video)

Post date: 2012-04-10
Autor: BCP
Dear Monsignor, On 22 February 2012, You decreed an excommunication against four bishops of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church who fall within the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate. These bishops are fighting not only against contemporary heresies but against their consequences too, particularly against gender-transsexualism and homosexualism which destroy all moral and Christian values. Moreover, it fights against the juvenile justice system which removes children from families without trial and without any real guilt. Children are sold into sexual slavery to homosexuals or paedophiles and some even for organs! These are crimes against humanity, against children! The Vatican is hypocritically silent on these crimes. Therefore it is co-responsible for them as well as for the crimes of paedophilia which it concealed and was silent on.

Discrimination and deportation /letter №2/

Post date: 2011-12-20
Autor: BCP
On orders from the UGCC, the relevant authorities in Lvov (Mr Salo) refused to grant visa extension to Patriarch Elijah in Ukraine. It is part of planned discrimination and elimination of the orthodox Catholics. Mr President, hereby we ask You again to address the main cause of discrimination, that is, an unlawful denial of registration of the UOGCC at the Ministry of Culture (Mr Bohutskyi).

Discrimination and deportation

Post date: 2011-12-17
Autor: BCP
Dear Mr President, we, Secretaries of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate, hereby appeal to You to stop religious discrimination which is aimed at elimination of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church (UOGCC). There is a plot devised by the UGCC leadership to deport our Patriarch Elijah from Ukraine. This deportation has been planned by the UGCC for at least six months. It is apparent lawlessness and political corruption on the part of the UGCC leadership which uses state structures for its purposes. The UGCC leadership has disclosed its discriminatory, deportation and elimination purposes several times in the mass media.

Open letter to Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (14.12.2011)

Post date: 2011-12-17
Autor: BCP
Dear Sir, we send You copies of our letters to the President of Ukraine. In the letters we mentioned in several points the specific cases of discrimination against our religious minority – Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church (UOGCC). Discrimination is perpetrated by the Ministry of Culture (Mr Bohutskyi) on the orders of the UGCC hierarchy. Unless You respond to this blatant religious discrimination, Your mission, in fact, has nothing to do with human rights.

Judgement at the head (Patriarch Elijah put on trial)

Post date: 2011-08-06
Autor: faithful
On Tuesday 19 July 2011, the UOGCC faithful attached a cross to the gable roof of their chapel. It provoked an immediate response of the aggressive supporters of the Redemptorists. They took our ladder, climbed to the roof of private property – the chapel, which is against the law, and threw the cross down to the ground.A clear proof that the whole event had a predetermined aim was that the police took up none of the attackers but the Bishop who defended himself against the furious mob. The police detained him from 24:00 to 14:30. They did not allow forensic medical examination which he had asked for. Readiness of the police was only too astonishing: the Patriarch arrested in the middle of the night and put on trial early in the morning, no evidence provided by the sisters, no forensic medical examination allowed. The frame-up trial was to be held at 9 o’clock in the morning. The police provided Shevchenko District Court merely with one-sided evidence material supplied by the attackers.